‘Summer Slump’ Sparks Volunteer Shortage at FFFC

At a time when more families are turning to us for support, Flagstaff Family Food Center is facing what’s known as the “summer slump” – and we need your help.

The summer slump is when the number of volunteers at FFFC drops off dramatically for a variety of reasons. This includes children being out of school, family vacations, out-of-town college students returning home for the summer break.

We’re seeing the impact here at FFFC.

“I’d say that during our better-staffed seasons, we have 55 to 60 volunteers on any given day,” said Riley Roberge, one of our volunteer coordinators. “During the summer, it’s more like 35 to 40 volunteers a day, and some days only 20.”

Unfortunately, just as volunteer hours are decreasing, FFFC is experiencing a historic demand for food. Some of this is seasonal; summer vacation means that thousands of children lose access to school meals. We also see a greater influx of unhoused persons who travel to Flagstaff during the summer to escape the dangerous heat further south.

Then there’s the demand that is being driven by cuts to SNAP benefits. Because of new eligibility requirements passed in Congress last year, about half of the people who received SNAP benefits last year lost them this year, including more than 200,000 children.

All of this translates to more people turning to FFFC, and we can’t meet that need without your help.

One volunteer shift this summer can feed hundreds of people, and we’ve just launched a new platform to make volunteering at FFFC easier. Feedtogether.org will let you know where we need the most help and will guide you through signing up and scheduling a shift.

I can honestly tell you that what we’re facing this summer is unlike anything I’ve seen. The need is greater, the resources are thinner, and the stakes for our neighbors couldn’t be higher. We need you during this “summer slump” and we’d be incredibly grateful if you could give us a few hours of your time. Whether you sign up for a volunteer shift, bring a friend, or share this opportunity with others, you can help ensure that there are enough helping hands to meet the demands of this busy season.

Meet Your Volunteer Coordinators

Each day the small army of volunteers that makes the work of Flagstaff Family Food Center possible are led by our two volunteer coordinators, Riley Roberge and Sam Wells. They handle logistics, staff up the shifts, and even revamped our online platform to make it easier to volunteer.

It’s amazing to think they’ve only been with FFFC since late January.

Riley came to Flagstaff from Running Springs, California, last year. She has a passion for coordinating things and bringing order to chaos. Prior to moving to Flagstaff, she coordinated school trips to the largest outdoor education space in the world, often handling 1,200 student visits a week!

She says that working at FFFC has been profoundly moving because “you are immersed in the community in so many ways – through your volunteers and the people you help. You see the impact every day.”

Sam Wells is originally from Bend, Oregon, and moved to Flagstaff in 2014, eventually attending Northern Arizona University. Previous experience as the volunteer coordinator at his church prepared him for the nuts and bolts of this position, he said, but he never imagined how dedicated FFFC’s volunteers are.

“It’s pretty awesome how much they just show up and they just want to do anything they can to make a difference,” he said.

When he joined FFFC, Sam quickly saw that an improved website would make it easier for people to volunteer – so he built one. Feedtogether.org debuted last week and it streamlines the process for discovering where volunteers are needed most and signing up for shifts.

Both Riley and Sam will tell you that volunteering doesn’t just help the community; it also benefits those who give their time.

“Over and over again, volunteers tell us it gives them purpose,” said Riley. “I asked one of our volunteers why he does it and he said it was simple – because no one should go hungry. And he didn’t know how he could solve hunger, but he could do this. He could make a sandwich. He could pack a food box.”

To find out how you can volunteer and help feed your neighbors in northern Arizona, visit feedtogether.org.