Volunteer Your Time
Run a Food Drive
Food drives are the lifeblood of our Harvest Pantry, which provides emergency groceries to individuals and families in need. To run a food drive, you simply collect non-perishable, non-expired food at your school, workplace, or any other location. 2HJ will send your donated food to those who need it!
Before you start your food drive, please contact Harvest Pantry Coordinator Michelle Ryan () to plan logistics and get helpful tips for making your food drive a success!
Read about people who have received food through the Harvest Pantry here.
Pickup/Dropoff Assistance
The food doesn’t move without drivers to pick it up from donors and drop it off where it’s needed. Drivers must have a Japanese driver’s license and a clean driving record. Japanese proficiency is highly desirable but is not required.
Don’t have a license but want to help move the food? Drivers can always use help loading and unloading food donations.
Drivers with their own vehcles are also welcomed. Recently we receive a lot of donation requests from agencies and those requests are sometimes larger than our logistics capacity. If you can cooperate with us by driving your own car it would be most welcomed.
Pickups and dropoffs happen nearly every day of the week. Please e-mail to let us know your availability.
Read the story of one of our volunteer drivers here.
Saturday Soup Kitchen
Our Saturday program is our main volunteering event. There are three main activities, and you’re welcome to come to one, two or all of them depending on how much time you have. Japanese proficiency is not required!
Volunteers must be at least 12 years of age.
For more information, email or call Patricia at 090-9332-8822. We plan and assign tasks based on the number of volunteers who are signed up. Please do not “just show up.” Instead, contact us to sign up. We’ll be looking forward to hearing from you!
Read a Saturday volunteer story here.
Saturday Overview
- 10:30-12:00—Preparation at the Second Harvest Japan warehouse in Asakusabashi
- 12:30-14:00—Soup kitchen and food Distribution at Ueno Park
- 14:30-15:30—Office and Clean Up Shift at Second Harvest Japan warehouse (same place as the preparation shift)
- 12:30-13:15—(Every 2nd and 4th Saturday) Mobile Food Pantry at Sakurabashi Bridge (on the Sumida River in Asakusa)
Preparation at the Warehouse
Help organize everything for the two food distribution activities—make soup, prepare portions, count vegetables… the more people we have, the faster it gets done!
Preparation is done at the warehouse every Saturday, 10:30-12:00. Here’s a map and some directions to help you get there.
Soup Kitchen and Food Distribution at Ueno Park
Once the preparation is complete, we make our way to Ueno Park (mostly by train, although some people ride in the vans with the food if there’s room) to give it to homeless people there.
We start distributing at 12:30 in the park, near the Science Museum, and finish around 14:00. If you’re there for the preparation, you can go with everyone else; otherwise, you can meet us straight there.
Mobile Food Pantry at Sakurabashi
Every second and fourth Saturday, we also head down to Sakurabashi (the X-shaped bridge over the Sumida river, northeast of Asakusa station (Eidan and Toei lines)). There, we distribute fresh vegetables and other food to the people who live in tents along the river’s banks.
We start this distribution at 12:30 and finish at 13:15. If you come to the warehouse in the morning, you can come with everyone else; otherwise, you can call us directly - Patricia at 090-9332-8822.