Food Bank

[SoulRaven]

"What would Jesus do?"

Turn just one single package of SWEDISH© fish into 50 cartons shrink wrapped on a pallet?

 

[compassrose]

Some how bleaching food or clothing should be illegal. Sounds like a mean spirited way to prevent poor from access to it. Certainly not for liability as someone could eat something bleached and get poisoned.

That's pretty much what everyone thinks. Like I said "supposed to". You cannot donate food that has passed it's "sell by" date to any food bank or charity. That's a legal thing. I don't know about the clothing. It's not legal to dumpster dive in many places. Insurance is also a factor. Some fool get's hurt dumpster diving in FD's (or any corporate dumpster) and the possibility of a lawsuit is high. If the management knows that people are dumpster diving or "encouraging" it in anyway and a lawsuit is almost a certainty. So before you pull any WWJD or bad mouth the corporations, perhaps you should start with the lawyers who instigate frivolous lawsuits.

 

[JT646]

 You cannot donate food that has passed it's "sell by" date to any food bank or charity. That's a legal thing. 

I don't believe this is the case at most food banks.  "Sell by..." and "Best by..." dates are not the same as expiration dates.  Here's a posting I found online from a food bank that talks about this:


http://communityactionprovo.org/giving-food/faq/

This is not the one I work at (Richland, WA) but our rules are similar.  Note:  Any food we can't give out (spoiled, etc.) is not wasted but given to a local pig farmer--saves him money and makes for happy pigs.

= = = = = =
Can I donate food if it is past the expiration date?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions and the answer is YES! The dates we see on items in the store have different meanings to different people. What may be considered to be an expiration date, may actually be a best if used by date, meaning the company will only gurantee the freshness and nutritional content up until that date. For other entities, these are shelf rotation dates that are used to determine how long a particular item has remained on the shelf. Dates are often used for marketing purposes to determine which items are selling and which aren’t. Many items have a much longer shelf life then we may really understand. One of the easiest ways to know if a can is no longer good is if it is bulging, leaking or rusting. So next time you are cleaning out your pantry and thinking about throwing away that can of soup from last year, think about donating it to the food bank instead of throwing it away.

 

[Jack]

If you need food, go to a food shelf. Period. I used to volunteer and we never turned anyone away. In fact, our biggest problems were the poor and needy families. They would dishonestly split up and each get all the food they could, knowing the rule was one family as a whole, not each person. Then, they would take most of the food and sell it.

Resident or not, if you need food, go to a food bank and ask. Even if you explain and tell them the truth that you're just passing through town, the overwhelming majority of them will not turn you away.

 

[John61CT]

I used to volunteer and we never turned anyone away. In fact, our biggest problems were the poor and needy families.

Is that really how you want to phrase that?

 

[Jack]

Is that really how you want to phrase that?

When read in context with the rest of my post, there's nothing wrong with the phrase at all.  The point was that the biggest problem we had at the food bank wasn't non-members of the community coming for food, it was the poor and needy families who knowingly plotted and took advantage of it that came in weekly and went home with enough food each week to last a month.  Much of the time, they did this in order to sell it.

 

[bigskybob]

I just got a letter from the local food bank a couple of days ago,seeking donations.The letter stated they could feed 7 meals for a $1 donation.I call BS,But I sent them a check anyway.

 

[yugogypsy1963]

Our food bank won't give a hamper to anyone without a permanent address in the area

 

[RoamerRV428]

what yugogypsy said. it is not that easy to 'qualify' for a food bank, there are restrictions nowadays.

best bet for food is find the 'pancake free breakfast' at a church or google where you are and find charitable diners/organizations and more that actually offer free meal to anyone. No ID required

basically soup kitchens don't ask and they are everywhere one might need a meal, passing thru or permanent resident.

just what I kinda discovered from our searches

 

[yugogypsy1963]

RoamerRV428, One you forgot is the American Legion, any vets can get help there

 

[Jack]

Wow. Unbelievable that any food bank would turn away a needy person. Most of the food banks here are in churches. You get asked some questions but no one is sent away empty handed.

 

[Smitty716]

About 12 years ago when I first got sick and couldn’t work anymore. I went to a local food bank , they sent me to the department of human services, had to get proof they weren’t giving me anything and get a card basically saying I was hungry and they could give me stuff. So now I’m happy for a brief moment. I get back and waltz in there like I belong , hand the lady in charge my. Card stating I’m hungry and you can give me food . Then a guy comes up and hand me a bag , it contains 1 small box powder milk , 1/2 loafe of bread ( the opened my bread and took half ) powdered sugar , can of spam and a can of pineapples.

 

[RoamerRV428]

holy moly Smitty that is just so wrong truly! wow!

 

[yugogypsy1963]

We had that problem up here with the main food bank in town for a while, now we have a Coalition of BC Food Banks and get donations from all over the province and we get all kinds of things. Our local grocery store is a block from the food bank and they donate a lot and the other grocery store nearby has pre-packed bags with soup, pasta, oats and other things in them that people can purchase to donate. At Christmas time the ladies all knit scarves and toques, the drugstore donates shampoos soaps toothbrushes and tooth paste etc and usually some sort of gifty item like a scented candle or a necklace.

Not bragging but I helped start our food bank in 1983, it floundered for a while but is doing really well now and you get a good big box of food, a quart of 2% milk or a pound of hamburger, pies, cakes, breads of all kinds. People donate their extra garden produce too

I'm sorry Smitty that you had such a bad experience

 

[Smitty716]

I have found that city officials have there own idea of what’s important or needed. And until a city gets a mayor or alderman that cares for people food banks are not that important.

 

[yugogypsy1963]

We're in a regional district, have regional directors instead of Mayor and council

Our Food bank was started by 7 people who knew we needed it. In 1983 the logging had died and other jobs were scarce. We had 2 neighbours lose their freezers off their porches and we had to lock ours.

Most break-ins around here involved food. People were hungry and going to whatever length they had to just to keep eating.
Dad got really upset when he lost a row of beans out of the garden

The food bank here has had to expand twice, that's what the economy in this area is like. Nobody is prospering, we're just getting by sometimes

 

[Goshawk]

Question about water from the food bank. Is it possible to get ten gallons (week supply) of water from them? Or a regular basis without any second guessing ?

Everyone is so concerned about food. Yet not enough clean drinking water is a rather bigger concern.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[yugogypsy1963]

Our food bank doesn't have anything like that. They do have a hose that you could use to fill your fresh water tank. The grocery store is a block from it and they have water machines. Drinking water is more expensive up here, a dollar and thirty nine cents for a quart of the most popular brands

 

[John61CT]

I can't believe bottled water ever became a thing.

One day some people will be shocked by those willing to breathe free air.