Food pantry donation debate: taste or nutrition?

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm in NOVA too, where was this?

If they were short on food for meals, I still don't see why they would turn down the cookies and donuts. If my kids were going to go to bed hungry, I'd rather give them cookies and donuts for dinner than NOTHING.

The women's shelter I worked at became overrun with bread and pastries (usually day old) from area stores and bakeries. There is only so much of that stuff you can eat before it goes bad, and believe it or not, people get tired of sweets. Yes, we did freeze it but we could only keep so much in the freezer as well. You'd be amazed at the quantity of surplus baked goods.

It was mentioned on a news story on NBC 4 and I believe it was a pantry/food bank in Maryland. Unfortunately I do not have a time context, so I can't even tell you when it was.

When my Dh was stationed (Marine Corps) on the west coast, I helped out with a bread ministry on base for military families. There was always bread but also usually there were Enteman's (sp?) pastries as well. None were expired, usually a few days before the expiration date. I would think there is always some organization that would be willing to take baked goods!

Sometimes it isn't that easy. I believe this was an extraordinary overabundance of baked goods that would have taken too much space from other donations. But honestly--I don't remember. I just remember thinking the same thing "why would they refuse it"...but it made sense. I just put the story out of my mind though so I don't recall specifics.

We tend to NOT give generic brand, because that's just mean.

We buy what we think would be helpful and/or tasty. Canned veggies, powered potatoes, mac & cheese, peanut butter, etc.

So do you personally feel that generic is not tasty?

Because we eat generic of many things and would consider giving it as long as *I* would eat it. (There are generics that are just plain nasty!)

But it is elitist to consider it mean. If someone could not "lower" themselves to eat what I would eat, then I would have to believe they don't actually need my donated item.

I would not eat powdered potatoes. ICK!

But I understand it is an easy way to give a non-perishable starch and am not so snooty that I wouldn't donate it.

 

[scbelleatheart]

On the toiletries I don't usually buy, except for shaving cream and toothpaste; I keep all of the hotel toiletries that DH & I collect in our travels, and I give those; homeless folks tend to prefer the small ones, and that way they go to good use. (I also like to think that children get a smile when they can get some Mickey Soap.)

It's really ridiculous that toothpaste cannot be purchased with food stamps; one way or another that is going to cost us when recipients are Medicaid patients.

Or toilet paper and laundry deterget. Those are needed more than soda and candy.
Thanks for the idea about hotel small bottles. I have a full grocery bag of the because we spend about 150-200 nights a year in hotels and take our big bottles to use personally. I sent a huge box of them overseas to Iraq last year. Not for the soldiers but for the peopel of Iraq. The soldiers got 100 phone cards from our Elks Lodge. They sent us back a signed flag and a picture of that platoon.

 

[englishteacha]

First, thank you for supporting your local food pantries! Second, when we donate, I give something I would buy for my own home, so if I won't eat it, I won't donate it. (Except for the occasional tuna on sale...I don't care for tuna, but I know lots of people do!)

Our local Walmart is collecting donations for a local food bank and has a list of "most needed" items. I was so pleased to see the bin overflowing the other day. Hunger is one of the few world problems we can actually help solve!

 

[VAfamily1998]

So do you personally feel that generic is not tasty?

Because we eat generic of many things and would consider giving it as long as *I* would eat it. (There are generics that are just plain nasty!)

But it is elitist to consider it mean. If someone could not "lower" themselves to eat what I would eat, then I would have to believe they don't actually need my donated item.

I agree! We actually eat a lot of store brand items in our houes--the only jarred pasta sauce my husband and kids like is Wegman's brand smooth marinara for 99 cents a jar! And the only yogurt my second son eats is Wegman's Key lime for 40 cents per container!
Since my family eats these items, I would donate them--except since one is in glass and the other needs to be kept cold, I can't.

I would not eat powdered potatoes. ICK!

But I understand it is an easy way to give a non-perishable starch and am not so snooty that I wouldn't donate it.

I used to feel the same way about instant mashed potatoes--until I tasted Penguin Naturals brand in a demo at Costco. OMG they were delicious! I couldn't believe it! They made some using chicken broth instead of water. Unfortunately, I haven't seen them sold at Costco in a long time.

 

[mrsklamc]

Re: Laundry soap...We actually have a team of volunteers who make the homemade laundry soap and request that the congregation bring in their empty laundry detergent bottles. Works great & much cheaper.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

Re: Laundry soap...We actually have a team of volunteers who make the homemade laundry soap and request that the congregation bring in their empty laundry detergent bottles. Works great & much cheaper.

Love this idea! Do you know what they use for a recipe?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I used to feel the same way about instant mashed potatoes--until I tasted Penguin Naturals brand in a demo at Costco. OMG they were delicious! I couldn't believe it! They made some using chicken broth instead of water. Unfortunately, I haven't seen them sold at Costco in a long time.

You just reminded me of something...

When donating, while bulk is lovely and costs savings, if it is not something easily divided and especially if the divided items when separated are unidentifiable--it isn't a good donation.

Our pantry figures it out, but would prefer SMALLER donations in greater quantity versus something big in bulk that they have trouble subdividing. A 20 pound of rice isn't as helpful as 20 individual 1 pound bags of rice.

The Costco boxed cereal, they separate into 2 individual bags are unlabeled and unidentifiable. While I would prefer they NOT separate it to stretch it for that very reason, they do because then the bulk box can now help 2 families. But if there is an allergy, they can't id the ingredients.

This is why in their requests--they are actually requesting smaller sized items. The oil they ask for is small bottles because with a big gigantic bulk bottle, they can't split it across families.

 

[Pigeon]

I give what is requested. The food pantry workers know better than I do what foods their clients are able to prepare and will find helpful. They are the people who deal with needy clients on a daily basis. I am not. I don't need to be the food police in trying to get people to eat to my nutritional standards.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I only buy things I would eat and serve my child. That doesn't exclude generic because I buy a lot of generics for us too, but if I'm picky about it, then I buy the product I like. This also means that I won't buy things I don't like, like canned peas, even if I know they can be healthy and popular.

Things I often donate:

Lentils
Brown Rice
Unsweetened Applesauce
Canned fruit in juice
Canned chili
Whole grain pasta
Jarred spaghetti sauce (one place I won't buy generic)
Canned soup, lower sodium
Albacore tuna
Cheerios or store brand

 

[CourtasanSatine]

If its something like food for fines at the library its usually extra cans of whatever is in the pantry.

 

[mamacatnv]

We make a donation to the local pantry on a monthly basis. I always contribute protein items ie tuna, canned chicken, peanut butter, nuts, good chili, hearty soups etc. as well as family sized bags of rice and beans.

Like a PP said, hunger is something we as a society can do something about and I am thankful everyday that my family has never been hungry, I pass on as much as I can. I won't donate something I would not serve to my family.

Next week DD's school has a food drive, she wears a uniform and for the entire week 5 food items will earn a free dress day. The rules are no top ramen/cup O'Noodles or anything in glass. I will need at least 25 items for the week.

I will hit Costco this weekend and send her with my usual canned chicken, tuna, PB and nuts along with a large bag of rice or beans daily with the canned items. The rice/beans are on the requests list along with the canned proteins. A 5# bag of rice is not a "cheap" item but will keep a family from being hungry for a decent amount of time.

I hate that there are people in this country who are hungry, its just so wrong to me

 

[honeydiane1953]

One yr our Church sponsored several families. As a family was walking down the aisles of the grocery store they thanked and thanked us for allowing them to get things they wanted and their children would eat. I thought about that and smiled.

 

[tvguy]

Before I spent time volunteering at our food bank, I always donated something like beef stew, pork and beans, chili or a similar main dish type item. But the biggest item they have demand for, and the least donated item is canned fruit. So that's what I donate now.

 

[Nancyg56]

I know that this is a little OT but last night DH and I watched Chopped on Food Network. The Chefs were school Chefs and three were from CT, which is where we live. They had me in tears. I know that there is rampant hunger in CT cities and that all summer long there were programs advertised to help get food to children who rely on the schools to provide the bulk of their meals but One of the Chefs prepared a version of her Pasta Monday and explained that so many of the children come to school hungry on Mondays because they don;t have enough to eat in the weekends that she makes a very filling meal to help get them over the hump. She also packs backpacks with food to supplement them over the weekend.

Thank God for those folks who help keep the pantry filled

 

[Mkrop]

You just reminded me of something...

When donating, while bulk is lovely and costs savings, if it is not something easily divided and especially if the divided items when separated are unidentifiable--it isn't a good donation.

Our pantry figures it out, but would prefer SMALLER donations in greater quantity versus something big in bulk that they have trouble subdividing. A 20 pound of rice isn't as helpful as 20 individual 1 pound bags of rice.

The Costco boxed cereal, they separate into 2 individual bags are unlabeled and unidentifiable. While I would prefer they NOT separate it to stretch it for that very reason, they do because then the bulk box can now help 2 families. But if there is an allergy, they can't id the ingredients.

This is why in their requests--they are actually requesting smaller sized items. The oil they ask for is small bottles because with a big gigantic bulk bottle, they can't split it across families.

I think this also depends on where you are donating to, a place near us prepares meals and thus the larger bulk stuff would work better for feeding big groups but also has a food bank where people can take food home, and for this smaller sizes work better.

For many of these places storage is an issue.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

What is mean about it? You are putting food in a stomach that otherwise might not have anything to eat. When my family was poor, I did not care what the package said. My parents never accepted assitance outside of he money they earned, and that meant we did not get name brands. Were my parents mean for feeding the family generic stuff?

I'm not sure I can say this without someone taking part of it out of context and/or sounding like I'm backing away from my original opinion.

My parents did use food pantries when I was a kid, and trust me, we were happy with what we got.

Here is my if/else logic:

If you can't afford to donate brand name food and still donate anything you can, than bless you.

If you don't believe there is a difference in quality and/or eat generic yourself, than it's not mean.

The thought "I can afford 20 cans of X or 50 cans of generic X, I'm buying generic X" is not mean either.

But, if you can afford to donate brand name food, and believe there is a difference in taste or quality, and you don't because you don't think the people using the pantry deserves it, that's mean.

Basically, there is an attitude I have seen where someone will say "well, I don't eat this junk, but I'll buy it for the poor people, because they should be happy with whatever I am willing to throw their way." I'm not saying anyone on this thread feels that way. Heck, I haven't even read most of the thread. I just know I've seen this attitude, and I think it's mean.

 

[mrsklamc]

Here is a recipe for laundry soap Michelle, I don't know if this is exact, but it's similar:

http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm

 

[PeterPan09]

One thing I remember from years back, a little boy came in with his mother and saw that the cereal area had the stuff he saw on TV commercials. His little face just lit up, he ran and grabbed the box and asked his mother for it. It made his day, and it made her day. She said that he doesn't usually get to have "the things other kids have". A $4 box of cereal made this little boy feel like the other kids for a little bit. That was the day I decided that what was good for me was good for the pantry.

Usually what I do is buy squared-if I'm buying one, I throw another one in for the pantry. Some of it's healthy, some of it isn't. If I buy brand names for me, I buy them for the pantry. I buy from the list too, but mostly I figure that if I like it or need it other people will too.

I am a firm believer that poor people deserve the same food the rest of us have.

 

[Mkrop]

I usually buy brands that I would buy but I have been known to buy other brands bc of a sale or clearance.

There was a PB&J drive in the fall. Our store had this Organic PB, store brand, on clearance. They were still carrying it but not that size any longer, so I bought all they had at the clearance price. Expirtation date was still a long way off. Normally I would buy Skippy or Peter Pan but I was able to get the drive more jars by buying that particular brand.

 

[PeterPan09]

One of my friends is an extreme couponer and she gives her excess stuff to the pantry. She's in the couponing thing for the thrill of the hunt, but lots of people are benefiting.