Class Assistants support our hands-on cooking workshops, tastings, and food-education classes by helping instructors deliver a smooth, welcoming, and mission-aligned experience for every participant. Most instructors are outside partners who come in just for the class; you are the on-the-ground representative who helps infuse our nonprofit’s mission, values, and Maine-focused messaging into each session.
Volunteers help with attendee check-in, answer questions about our organization, give a brief introduction at the start of class, and assist throughout the session by managing dishes, portioning and serving samples, supporting the instructor, and sharing information about membership opportunities. After class, you’ll help reset the space so it’s ready for the next group.
This role is genuinely fun and immersive; you essentially get to “audit” each class, tasting what participants taste, hearing everything the instructor teaches, and occasionally cooking along with the group. Some classes will include an MFBEC staff member alongside you; for others, it will be just you and the instructor working as a team. MFBEC staff handle class materials, ingredient prep, and most setup, though light setup assistance may be appreciated for certain sessions. Volunteers typically arrive 1 hour prior to scheduled class start time and stay 30 minutes-1 hour after for clean-up; classes range from 1 hour to 3 hours and many occur on weekday evenings or weekend days.
If you love Maine food, enjoy helping people learn, and want a behind-the-scenes role in our most popular programs, this opportunity is a great fit for you!
