MN

Job description for: Food Rescue Driver
Direct Report: Executive Director
Status: Full-Time Non-Exempt; Competitive Benefits Package Available
Pay Rate: $18.50 hourly

Loaves & Fishes Overview

Loaves & Fishes is a nonprofit organization with a mission to serve free, healthy meals to Minnesotans where the need is greatest. We are guided by our vision that all people – regardless of socioeconomic, cultural, religious, or ethnic background – deserve to meet their basic needs for food, dignity, and respect. We meet hunger through multi-faceted meal programming including community meal sites, summer meals and snack for students, street outreach, and partnering with local nonprofits/institutional programs to provide meals for their clients. https://www.loavesandfishesmn.org/

Position Summary

Loaves & Fishes is seeking a Food Rescue Driver to ensure the success of a rapidly growing food rescue program. This position is responsible for serving out our mission to provide healthy meals to guests, by effectively rescuing food. Our drivers rescue food from educational institutions, businesses, restaurants, and more to salvage excess yet perfectly edible food, preventing it from contributing to the environmental burden of landfills. By redirecting these rescued provisions to those facing food insecurity, the initiative not only combats wastefulness but also champions sustainability and social responsibility. While maintaining positive relationships with the community, this position captures wholesome food before it goes to waste and follows food safety best practices to continuously improve within their role. Our Food Rescue Drivers care about food insecurity and barriers to food access in our community. They are passionate about engaging others to support our work to ensure we can continue providing free meals to our families, friends, and neighbors.

Essential Functions

Mission Ambassador

• Represent Loaves & Fishes in a positive manner while promoting program mission and vision
• Provide a welcoming atmosphere for guests of all backgrounds
• Ability to treat others with dignity and respect; working with various groups with differing needs
• Establish and build relationships with donation partners, serving as the face of L&F
• Support and contribute to organization, team, and individual goals

Responsibilities

• Pick up regularly scheduled donated items from partners, as scheduled by Operations Team
• Ensure proper food safety measures are taken in the transport and storage of perishable donated food by using thermometers, freezer blankets, and coolers as recommended and industry best practices
• Maintain records of temperatures of donated meat and dairy items upon receipt at donation site and upon delivery to L&F Warehouse
• Manage donations: weighing donated items, sorting, checking dates, and providing receipts
• Assist team by loading/unloading products into the freezer, cooler, and shelves as needed
• Ensure cleanliness, safety, and organization of vehicles and workspace
• Assessing vehicle maintenance and reporting needs to Leadership Team
• Serve as a backup in the warehouse
• Other general support duties as assigned

Administrative

• Certifications as required
• Frequent monitoring of phone calls, texts, emails, and submitting paperwork
• Comply with requirements to collect and report necessary statistics
• Attend trainings and meetings as required

Experience and Skills Required:

• Food Operations Driver, Warehouse Experience, or related experience (2 years required)
• Ability to take direction from management
• Ability to make clear decisions in a fast-paced environment
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills
• Excellent time management skills
• Leadership skills
• Organization skills: Ability to organize multiple tasks; prioritizing competing demands
• Taking initiative to problem-solve with little direction.
• Adaptability to daily work conditions
• Computer literacy

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Frequent lifting and carrying up to 50 pounds; frequent walking, reaching, pushing, pulling, kneeling, squatting, bending, standing, and sitting.
• Ability to occasionally lift and carry up to 80 pounds, or willingness to repack donations.
• The potential for prolonged standing, walking, squatting, and/or bending.
• Frequent use of an electric pallet jack or manual pallet jack (loads of 100 pounds, up to 1,000 pounds. Frequent use of carts with loads of 100 pounds.
• Ability to enter the cold case, cooler, and freezer thereby being subjected to cold temperatures for extended periods of time.
• Work environment of varying temperatures (retail/warehouse/office environments) and frequent exposure to outdoor elements during food rescue pick-ups. Frequent work in warehouse with shelves and storage equipment.
• Use of industrial cleaners, ladders, and pallet jacks.
• Must pass a DOT physical.

Education and Requirements:

• High School Diploma or equivalent
• Valid driver’s license with no accidents in the past 36 months (without restrictions)
• Must be able to maintain insurance coverage as an approved driver for Loaves & Fishes

How to Apply

Email Leadership team at kbenson@loavesandfishesmn.org and mmccormick@loavesandfishesmn.org with a cover letter and resume.