Volunteer with the 18th Street Kitchen

What is the 18th St. Kitchen?

The 18th St. Kitchen is one of 18 Reasons' culinary education programs. Housed at 3674 18th St. in the Mission district of San Francisco, we play nightly host to hands-on cooking classes, cheesemaking and fermentation workshops, dinners with farmers and food producers, tasting seminars, and just about anything we can think of that will help our community become more excited about cooking and eating good food every day.

What do Volunteers do?

18th Street Kitchen Volunteers serve as assistants to our events listed on the calendar. Volunteers set up our teaching classroom and kitchen, serve guests, assist chef instructors, and clean up after the event has ended. Volunteering has many perks: working alongside a variety of chef instructors, connecting with other food-loving people, receiving the recipes from class, and taking home free food from events. 18th St. Kitchen Volunteers may earn additional benefits by volunteering, such as a free year of membership to 18 Reasons, a free or discounted ticket to 18th Street Kitchen events, and Bi-Rite Market gift cards.

When are Volunteers needed?

We prioritize training volunteers who are available on weeknights and weekend afternoons for 6 hour shifts. We expect volunteers to be present for the entire time of their shift.

Typical volunteer shifts are:

• Monday through Thursday: 5-10:30 pm

• Friday: 5-11 pm

• Saturday: 3-9 pm

• Sunday: 3-9 pm

Who are the Volunteers?

We have a roster of about 100 active 18th St. Kitchen Volunteers. Volunteers are at least 21 years of age. All have a valid California Food Handler certification. All are vaccinated for COVID-19 (the same policy applies to our teachers and staff). They are expected to volunteer for at least 6 shifts a year to remain active. Last, but not least, volunteers abide by our core values.

How can I volunteer?

Current Status: We are not accepting applications for new volunteers. We will hold our next orientation in late summer/early fall 2023.

First, an in-person orientation must be available. All volunteers are required to attend this orientation before assisting with their first event. Due to the limited size of our roster, we hold orientation roughly every 3-6 months. Orientations are typically held on a weeknight from 6-8 pm. We choose to hold an orientation only when there is space on our roster to welcome new folks. There are two ways to know if applications are open: check this webpage for an upcoming orientation's date/time, or read our newsletter for an announcement (sign up here).

In order to be invited to the orientation, you must complete an application online. Applications are generally open for 3-4 weeks before the orientation. Once your application is submitted, we will review it and email you if we approve your application. If your application is approved, you will be invited to the orientation by Google calendar invite.

If you miss the orientation that you are invited to, we are unable to offer a make up session due to limited staff capacity. You will need to wait for the next group orientation, which may be 3-6 months later.

If you have questions about the volunteering application process, please email us at 18thstvolunteers@18reasons.org.