Retail and Community Food Coordinator

Retail and Community Food Coordinator Operations Kitchener, Ontario Department : Operations Employment Type : Full-time, in-person role Minimum Experience : Entry-intermediate level Job Purpose Reporting to the Food Procurement and Distribution Services Manager, the Community and Retail Food Coordinator plays a key role in furthering the organization's food recovery goals by building and strengthening relationships with grocery retailers, community food donors, and other food recovery partners. This role supports efforts to raise food, funds, and awareness for The Food Bank of Waterloo Region through retail food recovery, retailer-led fundraising initiatives, and volunteer engagement. Working collaboratively with members of various Food Bank departments, the Community and Retail Food Coordinator strengthens retail partnerships and advances organizational priorities. Responsibilities and Duties EXAMPLES OF THE ROLE'S RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO: 1. Strengthening retail partnerships to increase food recovery: Building and maintaining relationships with grocery retailers participating in The Food Bank's food recovery programs through regular store visits, communication, and follow-up. Supporting the onboarding of new stores and providing guidance and resources on food donation guidelines, best-before dates, food safety, and program procedures. Monitoring store participation and food recovery volumes, addressing program issues such as missed pickups and food quality concerns, and identifying opportunities to increase the amount and variety of food recovered. Identifying significant food recovery opportunities and emerging donor relationships and bringing them forward to the Food Procurement and Distribution Services Manager. 2. Coordinating retail campaigns to drive community engagement: Coordinating retailer participation in third-party fundraising initiatives, including Feed More Families, Walmart Fight Hunger. Spark Change., and other local, seasonal, or national campaigns. Providing participating stores with campaign information, materials, timelines, and ongoing support, while coordinating with internal teams to facilitate successful initiatives. Supporting opportunities for retail partners and their employees to participate in Food Bank volunteer activities and group volunteer experiences. Identifying opportunities to deepen retail relationships through food donations, fundraising, volunteering, and other community engagement activities. Supporting retailer recognition, appreciation, and stewardship activities. 3. Developing food donor relationships to expand recovery opportunities: Supporting outreach, communication, follow-up, and stewardship with retail, corporate, and community food donors. Assisting with identifying and researching prospective food donors and food recovery opportunities. Responding to routine food donation inquiries and gathering information on product type, quantity, best-before dates, storage requirements, and availability. Tracking recovered food volumes, donor contributions, store participation, and other program activity. Monitoring food recovery trends and preparing regular reports and summaries to support program planning and evaluation. 4. Coordinating food recovery operations to improve efficiency: Collaborating with the Transportation and Warehouse Operations teams to coordinate food recovery pickups and receiving, including communicating changes to store contacts, donation volumes, schedules, and pickup requirements. Helping resolve routine issues between participating retailers and internal operational teams. Supporting special or time-sensitive food recovery opportunities as required. Gathering feedback from retailers and internal teams to identify opportunities to improve food recovery processes and the partner experience. 5. Assisting with other tasks as needed to support team and organizational goals: Assisting with warehouse tasks and activities as require…

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