The go-to place for active FareShare volunteers
FareShare has temporarily suspended our volunteer kitchen and packing shifts in Melbourne, together with our garden shifts, due to COVID-19 restrictions. Volunteers have returned to our Brisbane kitchen with social distancing and hygiene measures in place, and a 4sqm per person rule throughout shifts.
Volunteer shifts in Melbourne including kitchen, packing and gardening are currently suspended. Volunteers on these shifts will be kept updated by email of any news about the resumption of volunteering.
Yes, Fareshare is taking social distancing very seriously. Mask-wearing is mandated in Melbourne and staff are attending work under Victoria’s Permitted Worker Scheme.
No. If you are feeling unwell, please do not attend your shift even if you do not have COVID-19. Please refer to the latest public advice from the Victorian Department of Health and Social Services and your GP if you think you may have contracted the virus or have been in contact with someone who has.
Please notify us immediately, so that we can advise other staff and volunteers on your shift. Please stay away from FareShare until you get the all clear from your doctor.
No. Note, anyone who has returned from overseas from March 16 MUST self-isolate for 14 days. For any travel-related matters, please take a precautionary approach and adhere to the latest travel advice from the Australian Government. This is continually evolving. You will find the latest advice here.
Social distancing includes ways to stop or slow the spread of infectious diseases. We are practicising social distancing at FareShare and request your full cooperation. This means avoiding ‘close contact’ defined as greater than 15 minutes face-to-face or the sharing of a closed space for more than two hours.
Social distancing is important because COVID-19 is most likely to spread from person-to-person through:
Please tell your supervisor. We cannot reiterate how important it is at this time to stay away from FareShare if you are unwell.
If there has been a confirmed case of COVID-19 in your workplace please do NOT come in to FareShare until it is safe to do so.If you are in any doubt or believe you carry an elevated risk of infection, please do not come in.
No. Please let FareShare know immediately if you have had ‘close contact’ with a confirmed case and consult your GP. There is also a dedicated hotline on 1800 675 398 for advice.
Yes. All kitchen and packing volunteer shifts have been suspended from Monday, 30 March. If you are a kitchen volunteer do not need to take any further action – we will stay in touch and let you know when your shift will resume.
If you are a garden, driving or warehouse volunteer, you can suspend your shifts. We urge you to prioritise your health and follow the rapidly-evolving health guidelines from the Victorian Government or your doctor. If you believe a pre-existing condition, compromised immune system or your age put you at greater risk of serious infection, we encourage you to adopt a precautionary approach and consider staying away from FareShare.
Note, All volunteer spots will be saved and there will be no need for make-up shifts. Let us know if you would like to suspend your volunteering by using the Melbourne Shift Change Form or call 03 9428 0044. Your health and safety are paramount.
The safety of our volunteers is really important to us. Please review the FareShare Volunteer Induction Video that outlines important Occupational Health & Safety information for kitchen volunteers.
If you have any questions about the content, please ask! We want to make sure all our volunteers are safe in our kitchen.
If you are unable to attend your shift, for any reason, we would appreciate you notifying us. We shall ask you, if you are able, to do a make-up shift. Please select your shift change form below:
In normal circumstances outside the coronavirus outbreak, if you are going to be absent for 8 weeks or more we ask you take a break from your roster and then get in touch on your return. Your absence might be due to an illness or injury, study or work commitments, or an extended holiday.
We need full crews attending each shift to ensure we meet our production targets of meals for those in need. We will fill your spot with one of the many people on our waiting list.
When you are ready to return, please contact the Melbourne or Brisbane office to let us know that you wish to resume your regular shift. We will fit you into a shift as soon as we have a vacancy that suits you.
When Emmanuel Meraveka lends a hand in our Brisbane kitchen, his employer converts his contribution into dollars. “I loved volunteering with FareShare even before I found out that my employer, Mastercard, had a volunteer incentive program that would donate $500 to an approved charity for every 40 hours of time
As Australia celebrates National Volunteer Week, FareShare has novel plans to recognise our wonderful 1,500-strong unpaid work force in Victoria and Queensland. While social distancing measures have caused FareShare to suspend 800 of our regular kitchen volunteers in Melbourne and 445 in Brisbane, their contribution will not be forgotten. In
Marnie Dixon decided to volunteer with FareShare because she witnessed first hand the benefits of our meals to struggling women and their families. The garden volunteer worked for more than 21 years as an outreach community nurse and midwife supporting homeless women and families in inner-city Melbourne. As a first
FareShare has a number of family members who volunteer together in our kitchens and gardens – couples, siblings, even parents and their children. Now some of those relationships have crossed state borders. Tracey joined our new Brisbane kitchen just after it opened in October, 2018 after hearing about FareShare on