How to Donate

Our requirements regarding volunteering are governed by common sense and insurance standards. The following should provide you the information you need, but please reach out if you have further questions:

1. Baker – anyone accepting and following our baking best practices can bake and donate. Younger bakers, middle and high school age can earn volunteer service hours for their time. It is expected that all young bakers will follow the safety practices and follow the recipes precisely.
   
2. Flour Packer – no age limit. However, precision in breaking down 50 lb bags into 5 lb portions is a must. Flour is our thing, so neatness and attention to detail matter.
   
3. Stage and Load the Truck – ability to lift, without struggle, 40 lbs.
   
4. Drive The Truck – Twenty-five years of age or older with a valid driver’s license and insurance.

1. Let your hub leader know you’re coming by pre-checking your donation. You’ll find the red donation button on your volunteer dashboard in the Make A Donation section. Select the first box on the left, Loaves & Cookies. It looks like this:

2. You can check your loaves or cookies at any hub or freezer bank that is convenient for you. (Typically, the most convenient is your neighborhood hub.)

3. Heading out of town for the weekend? You can also check your items into one of our freezer banks. Select that radial button, and then from the list, the freezer that is closest to you. Using our freezer banks gives you the ultimate flexibility in your donation timing.

4. You will receive an email confirmation that your items have been pre-checked.

We donate twice a month. The calendar is set a year in advance. Our intent when setting the calendar is to minimize overlapping with holidays, where our food bank partners might be closed, or our volunteer bakers otherwise occupied.

Additionally, when setting dates we intentionally avoid back-to-back donations. Finally, we do not bake and donate in August. For the health of the organization, hub leaders, operations people, bakers, we all need a break, and frankly it is also too hot to bake! That said, for those diehard bakers, those who must bake, it is a great time to freeze your donation and stock up for September.

Speaking of freezers. Using our “freezer banks” is the perfect way to volunteer on your own time. Heading out of town for the weekend? Pre-check your loaves in one of our “freezer banks”. Your donation karma is secured and you don’t have to worry about getting home on time. Learn More Here.

Our program calendar is a terrific resource for all dates, you find that on your volunteer dashboard, right at the top. And, for convenience, we’ve included the full 2024 list below as well.

A special donation is a way for us to provide a little extra heart and care to our food bank partners and their clients, specifically around holidays. Baking and donating the special items is fun and adds a little variety and spice to our usual donations. Not your thing, special donations are optional.

We have two scheduled special donations in 2024:

1. The second donation in November, in preparation for the Thanksgiving Meal boxes our food banks often provide their clients, volunteers are encouraged to convert their bread loaves into rolls. You can use the same packaging. See this video for instructions and recommendations on how to make rolls.
   
2. The second donation in December, ‘Tis the Season to extend cheer and best wishes for the New Year! We do this with a signature holiday cookie box. The cookie that is baked is the winner of our annual holiday cookie competition. Click here to see a list of the 2023 winner and all the entries.

One of our favorite questions! Yes, we do provide these hours. You will find them on your volunteer profile page. You receive hours for baking and donating loaves and cookies, packing flour, packing cookie mix, serving as a hub leader, driving and/or organizing supplies, and helping out your hub leader. Just about every aspect of the program acknowledges your dedication with a volunteer time credit!

To find, view, and print your “statement”:

1. Login to your volunteer dashboard.
2. Click the yellow “Profile” button.
3. Scroll down, you’ll see some options for viewing your statement. This year, last year and then click to view as a pdf. You can also see all of this year’s donations itemized right ther on the profile page.
4. Donations are calculated as follows – 6 hours for every combination of 3-4 loaves of bread donated and 3 hours for every batch of cookies. These are based on existing averages. 
5. Note our EIN number is on the statement to make it easy for you when you file your annual tax return.
   

We track these efforts intentionally, young bakers can earn Community Service credit, and working bakers can submit their time with their companies for corporate matching. Those are really valuable dollars for this little non-profit organization.

If you need additional information to complete your submission, please send an email to bakersupport@communityloves.org

We are thrilled to participate as a charitable organization in Washington Combined Fund Drive. Here our volunteers can extend their generosity through direct giving.

If you are employed by WA state, including any of our state colleges and institutions and/or at the Port of Olympia, Seattle Housing Authority, and Snohomish County PUD you can participate!

Our OSOS Charity Program # is 1483063

It couldn’t be easier to set up. Click on the banner linked below.

Heading out of town, want to drop your loaves off early? You don’t have to miss a donation, you can bake ahead and take your items to your nearest freezer bank.

A freezer bank is an independent donation location; it is like a hub, and sometimes it is located at your hub. The difference is unlike your hub check-in, where the donations are organized for Sunday. Freezer banks can take donations at any time, well, within reason, that is. Then the freezer bank manager makes sure that your loaves and/or cookies are transferred to the food bank for the next donation date.

You’ll find the Freezer Bank opportunity in the same location as your regular Donation Check-In.

1. Click the Loaves/Cookies Button

2. Select “Freezer Bank”

3. Click the down arrow to reveal the location opportunities. We are adding more and more freezer banks as the weeks and months progress

After checking in your items, your confirmation message will provide the details for reaching out to the freezer bank manager. You can confirm via text, email or phone that you’ll be bringing by your items for cold storage. Then head off to the Bahamas with peace of mind and the positive vibes of a donation that is in the bank!

One of the best things about Community Loaves is that moving to a new neighborhood doesn’t mean you have to give up baking and donating.

When you started the program, you created a volunteer profile and selected your hub. Now that you’ve moved, you’ll probably want to change your hub to one that is closer to your new residence. Here’s what you need to do….

1. Click on the yellow profile button on your volunteer Dashboard.

2. Scroll down about 1/3 – you’ll see “Change Hub”. Click to edit.

3. Scroll down, type in your zip code and select the hub closest to your new home. Don’t forget to hit “Submit” at the bottom.

4. That’s it. Now you’re part of a new hub and they’ll be expecting you next donation Sunday!

Have an extra freezer? Want to become a drop point for donations? Freezer banks allow bakers to drop off their donations at times outside of the usual Sunday donation day: easier for those with unconventional schedules, or when vacations or other responsibilities interfere with a Sunday drop off.

As the freezer bank manager, you will be responsible for making sure that the loaves and cookies donated to your freezer are transferred to the food bank for the next donation date. This might mean bringing them to your hub along with your own donations on donation Sunday, or it might be that you drop them off yourself at the food bank Monday.

Still interested? Send us a message and we’ll get back to you soon!

Yes, absolutely, you can still donate those items.

Now, having said that. If you can tie a string around your finger and remember to pre-check for the future, that would be very helpful. Pre-checking your donation is a real courtesy to your hub manager. It makes easy work for them to submit the final counts on donation Sunday. Here is a reminder of our pre-check process.

When you pre-check your donation, it is automatically listed on a printed sheet, placed on a clipboard, and you can simply scribble your initials and dash. No paper bag with your name is needed. Further, it is much easier for a hub leader to estimate the number of bins/boxes to put out. Rest assured, even if your count changes between the pre-check and the physical donation, as when a spouse unexpectedly cuts into one of the loaves, you can easily make a note on the printed check-in sheet.

Baking and donating is wonderful. Baking, pre-checking, and donating is divine!

The great thing about Community Loaves is that you can literally bake whenever it works for your personal schedule, as long as you have access to a freezer.

However, if you don’t have access to a freezer or freezer bank, then you are a Saturday baker. You’ll want to bake on Saturday, package the items on Sunday (which provides plenty of time for loaves and cookies to cool), and then transport them to your designated hub.

Otherwise, you can bake any day of the week that suits your schedule. You’ll still package these beauties up the next day after they’ve had plenty of time to cool (see our Packaging and Freezing guidelines). Then pop the packaged items into your freezer or get them to a freezer bank. What’s a freezer bank? Learn more here.

On your Dashboard, you’ll find a Calendar icon (see below). We list all of our program events on this calendar, from delivery days, to donation days, to food bank tours, and so on.

If you hover over an event on the calendar, you will see a pop up box with more event info. Clicking on an event will take you to the event page, with its full information listed (location, time, volunteer sign up link, if applicable).