SUPPORT WRV
Lead Cook: Supporting Volunteers Through Food and Community
Lead Cooks play a vital role in Wildlands Restoration Volunteers’ projects by providing nourishing meals that support volunteer energy, morale, and connection. As a Lead Cook, you help create a welcoming and inclusive environment where volunteers can refuel, connect, and feel appreciated for their hard work in the field.
Lead Cooks work alongside WRV staff and volunteer leadership teams to plan, prepare, and serve meals during projects. Your efforts help strengthen community bonds while ensuring volunteers are cared for and supported throughout the day.
What Is a Lead Cook?
A Lead Cook is a volunteer leader responsible for coordinating and preparing meals for WRV volunteer projects. This role focuses on food planning, preparation, and service — ensuring meals are nutritious, inclusive, and accessible for a diverse group of volunteers. Lead Cooks help create a positive experience that complements the hands-on restoration work.
How Lead Cooks Make an Impact
By providing thoughtfully prepared meals, Lead Cooks directly support volunteer well-being and project success. A shared meal offers a moment to rest, connect, and celebrate collective effort. This role helps foster a sense of belonging and appreciation that keeps volunteers energized and engaged.
Responsibilities and Collaboration
Lead Cooks collaborate with WRV staff, Project Leaders, and other volunteer leaders to plan menus, coordinate food logistics, and manage dietary needs and allergies. On project day, Lead Cooks oversee meal preparation and service, ensuring food safety and a smooth, welcoming experience for all participants.
Background, Training, and Preparation
Lead Cooks bring organizational skills, comfort with food preparation, and an interest in supporting community-centered volunteer experiences. Prior cooking or food service experience is helpful but not required. WRV provides guidance on food safety, dietary considerations, and project logistics to help Lead Cooks feel prepared and confident.
Commitment and Involvement
Lead Cooks typically support projects on a flexible basis, depending on availability. This role may involve planning meals in advance and being present on project day to prepare and serve food. Lead Cooks play an important part in WRV’s volunteer leadership network and contribute to the welcoming culture that defines WRV projects.
COOK TEAM MEMBERS
Description
Cook Team Members are the designers and drivers behind the camp set up, menu creation, feeding, cleaning, and caring for volunteers on a project.
Objectives
The Cook Team works with the WRV Staff Liaison (WSL), project leader, and tool manager at different stages of the project. Their goal is to create a healthy menu on budget, taking into consideration the number of helping hands, meat and vegetarian needs, and food safety while on the project. One Cook Team Member may be designated as Lead Cook to take the lead in organizing the team’s efforts.
Responsibilities
- Create a menu or implement a pre-written menu; delegate purchasing if there are cook team members willing to help.
- Organize kitchen materials and supplies for the project from the tool shed.
- Delegate or participate in pre-cooking events.
- Delegate or undertake set up of hand-washing and dishwashing stations.
- Ask the tool manager about water availability. (TM is responsible for water.)
- Be available to help supervise loading of the tool truck before the project.
- Delegate kitchen set up and food prep tasks during the project event.
- Delegate and oversee clean up, pack up of camp kitchen materials, and disposal of recycling, trash, and compost.
- Communicate with the Project Leader on timing of meals and, if requested, recruit extra volunteer help on site for hauling water, helping to put coolers back in the truck for bear safety, asking an early riser to make coffee, etc.
- Coordinate the timeline of prep, cooking, and kitchen clean up on project day.
Background and qualifications
It is helpful to have a background in and passion for food preparation (even if it’s just for yourself, friends or family), as well as a desire to camp. Most people desiring to be a Lead Cook should be a CTM first, to get the hang of how we do large group cooking. If someone has extensive experience catering or backcountry cooking for large groups, they may be able to successfully jump to lead cook after reading the handbook and talking with staff.
Training and Preparation
It is strongly recommended for Cook Team Members to attend cook training and thoroughly read the Cook Handbook created by WRV and tailored to WRV projects and mission. Lead Cooks are sometimes necessary and self-select for projects. Sometimes particular people are asked to join a project team given their experience.
Commitment
This depends on the type of project, but typically six weeks are needed prior to project to coordinate disposal of the waste at the end of the project and providing leftovers to the next lead cook or CTMs for the next project on the calendar. The time commitment can range from 20 to 80 hours depending on the complexity, location, and length of the project.
Measures of success
- The completion of a project menu within budget
- Safe healthy execution of meals
- Support WRV’s organizational mission and goals
- Well-communicated task delegation
- Satisfaction of volunteers and cook team members