Kitchen volunteers are urgently needed at Community Servings to help the nonprofit’s professional kitchen staff prepare and package 18,000 medically tailored meals that are delivered weekly to critically and chronically ill individuals across the region.

While Community Servings operates one of Boston’s largest volunteer programs, the current COVID-19 surge has pushed January volunteer numbers to low levels.  Demand for the nonprofit’s nutritious, life-saving meals has increased by over 80% since the pandemic began.

“Volunteers have been at the heart of our mission since we began, essential to ensuring that we can feed our neighbors in need and help maintain their health,” said David B. Waters, CEO of Community Servings.  “Given the effects of this pandemic surge, we are making a plea for anyone with a few hours to lend a helping hand in our kitchen.”

Volunteers help peel and chop vegetables; portion soups, stews and salads; and pack weekly meal bags for clients living with HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes and heart disease, among other illnesses.

For health and safety reasons, all volunteers are required to be fully vaccinated, have their temperature taken, and wear a surgical or KN95 face mask (provided) at Community Servings’ Food Campus in Jamaica Plain, which is on the T’s Orange Line.  The kitchen is equipped with hospital-grade air ventilation and filtration systems.

Anyone interested in volunteering can visit www.servings.org/volunteer to sign up for three-hour shifts Monday through Friday (9 a.m. to noon, 1 to 4 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m.).