The most frequently asked question is, “Do
I qualify?” The second is, “How do I sign up?”!
Everyone is eligible to participate in
Serve New England! Our only requirement is 2 hours of volunteer service
in the month in which you place a food order with us. We are open to all
ages, races, and income levels.
You can sign up at your local chapter, by
internet, or by phone. You can check our newspaper or this website for
the information on your local chapter, or you can call the Canton office
toll free at 1-888-742-7363 and we will be happy to help you.
Serve accepts credit cards, EBT vouchers,
or cash for payment. We do not accept personal checks.
How do you define volunteer service?
Serve defines volunteer service as anything that you do for someone
else, outside of your immediate family, without compensation. If you are
already volunteering -- then
you already qualify! Do you help at your church, school, youth
sports, hospital, or senior center? Do you help a friend get to the
doctor, baby sit, do yard work, or take cookies to a friend in need of
cheering up? Serve also welcomes volunteers to help at our Canton, MA
office and at the 13 warehouse locations. Serve can always use an
extra pair of hands to help distribute food on D-day or at the chapter
sites for distribution, registration, etc.
Is Serve a government program?
Serve is a private, non-profit corporation that is not affiliated with
any government program. We often work with agencies, like WIC, but we are
not subsidized by the government.
Where does Serve get their food?
Serve’s food is all top quality purchased from the same suppliers the
supermarkets use. We buy from local growers and wholesalers whenever
possible, guaranteeing us the freshest fruits and vegetables. Many of our
meat products are purchased from companies like Kayem and Purdue.
How can you sell so much food at this
low price?
Serve buys in such large quantities that the wholesalers can give us a
better price, which we gladly pass on to you! Serve also has very low
overhead since many administrative and warehouse jobs are performed by
volunteers who are very happy to work for Serve’s food as their
only compensation!
How many packages can I buy?
You can buy as many packages as you want in any combination. Just pay
for each package when you order, then complete your 2 hours of volunteer
service. Many people order more than one package each month. Serve
offers 2 meat specials each month. These specials change each month, so
we recommend that people order extras of their favorites as it may be
several months before we offer it again.
How do I Start a Chapter?
Call the Avon office toll free at 1-888-742-7363 and we will be
happy to help you. We often make presentations to groups of interested
people advising them on the start-up process. To start a chapter, you
need a team of about 5 people to help take orders, package the food
orders, and help with transportation of the food from the warehouse. You
will also need a location in which to work out of like a church, community
center, or public building. Your location should be easy to find, have
good parking, and be handicapped accessible. It’s easy, it’s fun, and you
get to meet lots of interesting people!
