Wellness Pantry

The Wellness Food Pantry at ECCO operates like a grocery store, but full of volunteer help! ECCO Clients can place food orders up to 2 times a month for non-perishable food, produce, frozen meats, deli items, hygiene items and cleaning supplies. These orders are placed either online, through our food order helpline, or at our lobby kiosk. Once these orders are placed, volunteers shop these orders based on the client's order pick-up time. Volunteers also help with the receiving, inventory, and stocking of all donated and purchased food in the pantry.

Remote Opportunities:

- Host a Food Drive- Email our Food Drive Committee at fooddrive@eccocharleston.org to receive a customized flier of our current needs! 

- Host a Feminine Hygiene Products Drive - Organize a period packing party and help collect/assemble kits for our female clientele! 

- Host a Hygiene and Cleaning Supply Drive - As these products are not covered by government assistance programs (such as snap) and typically the most expensive products to purchase, our Wellness Pantry is always in need of items such as…

• Oral Care: Tooth brushes, tooth paste, floss

• Personal Care:Shampoo, conditioner, soap 

• Laundry & Cleaning: Detergent, dryer sheets, multi-purpose spray, antibacterial wipes 

Occasional Opportunities:

Fresh & Free Farmer's Market:

Help distribute fresh produce at ECCO’s Farmer’s Market! On the third Thursday of every month, we pass out fruits and vegetables in the Home Depot parking lot in partnership with the Lowcountry Food Bank. This drive-through style event is free and available to all community members, regardless of client status. Volunteers assist with setup, bagging, distributing, and teardown.

Attributes: Ability to stand for extended periods in various weather conditions, ability to bend and lift 15+ lbs, customer service, collaboration

Weekly Opportunities:




Driving Assistant:

About a third of Wellness Pantry items come from community food drives with another third from community partners, which makes this position critical for our operations! As an Assistant Route Driver, you'll accompany our driver on pickups to our retail partners (Costco, Walmart, etc.) and food drive donors. You may be asked to drive independently.




*This position requires a license and clean driving record of 5-years, as well as additional training*




Attributes: Ability to lift and load/unload 35+ lbs, customer service, comfortable volunteering independently, time management skills




Wellness Pantry Shopper & Sorter:




Last year, our Wellness Pantry received just over 695,000 pounds of food and non-food donations to keep our shelves thanks to our sorter superstars! Sorters categorize these donations for our inventory volunteer to enter into SmartChoice. Then, our Shoppers get their steps in while making a difference fulfilling clients orders! Serving in this role may also include restocking shelves, compiling meal kits, and assisting with various Wellness Pantry projects.

Attributes: Detail oriented, organized, collaborative, multi-tasking, ability to stand for extended periods, bend and lift up to 15 lbs


Receiving - Inventory:




Consider yourself tech savvy and numerically inclined? Become an inventory volunteer! In this position, you will enter donated food, cleaning supplies, and hygiene items into our software system. These items will then be accessible for clients to self-select online or Front Office volunteers to offer during food order phone calls. This will also reflect current needs for our Food Drive committee to relay during public inquiries. Volunteers in this position are crucial to keeping our inventory system current and correct.

Attributes: Computer proficiency, arithmetic proficiency, detail oriented, ability to stand for extended periods, organization, collaborative, multi-tasking

*This position requires SmartChoice training*

We try to make volunteering at ECCO easy for local community members. To start, simply click below to visit the Volunteer page of our website and complete the Inquiry Form. After it's been submitted, our team will follow up in a timely manner to let you know about our current needs and how you can get involved.

Click here to complete the Inquiry Form

Please feel free to contact ECCO's Volunteer Manager at volunteer@eccocharleston.org

We look forward to speaking with you