Mastodawn

I never realized till now…. From another source…

So, I spoke to people getting food at a food bank and here are some things I learned from those in need:
1. Everyone donates Kraft Mac and Cheese in the box. They can rarely use it because it needs milk and butter which is hard to get from regular food banks.
2. Boxed milk is a treasure, as kids need it for cereal which they also get a lot of.
3. Everyone donates pasta sauce and spaghetti noodles.
4. They cannot eat all the awesome canned veggies and soup unless you put a can opener in too or buy pop tops.
5. Oil is a luxury but needed for Rice a-Roni which they also get a lot of.
6. Spices or salt and pepper would be a real Christmas gift.
7. Tea bags and coffee make them feel like you care.
8. Sugar and flour are treats.
9. They fawn over fresh produce donated by farmers and grocery stores.
10. Seeds are cool in Spring and Summer because growing can be easy for some.
11. They rarely get fresh meat.
12. Tuna and crackers make a good lunch.
13. Hamburger Helper goes nowhere without ground beef.
14. They get lots of peanut butter and jelly but usually not sandwich bread.
15. Butter or margarine is nice too.
16. Eggs are a real commodity.
17. Cake mix and frosting makes it possible to make a child’s birthday cake.
18. Dishwashing detergent is very expensive and is always appreciated.
19. Feminine hygiene products are a luxury and women will cry over that.
20. Everyone loves Stove Top Stuffing.

In all the years I have donated food at the Holidays, I bought what I thought they wanted, but have never asked. I am glad I did. If you are helping a Family this Christmas, maybe this can help you tailor it more. It does for me!

ArtsandSocks 🧶🪡Sep 26, 2023

@rjay Cash donations allow food banks to purchase perishables like milk, meat and fresh vegetables, often at wholesale prices. So I quit giving my money to grocery chains, and started giving my money directly to the local food cupboard. I even get an income tax receipt. It's a win all around.

Sean Eric Fagan Oct 5, 2023

@Artsandsocks @rjay YES THIS EXACTLY THIS!

Food banks can often get *much* better prices at stores than you can, so the cash works *even better*.

CautionWIP (he/him) 🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦🕎Oct 5, 2023

@kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay Hugely important. I have helped to run food banks and I recommend against donating fresh produce or via the collection bins at grocery stores. Cash donations remain the best.

Rarely donated and crazy-useful goods include toiletries (soap, shampoo/conditioner, toothpaste and brushes) toilet paper and OMG disposable diapers.

Also long lasting condiments like mustard/mayo/ketchup.

Krupo Oct 6, 2023

@Caution @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay donation bins at grocery stores feel like the world's biggest scam (waiting to happen / already happened).

Putting in something just purchased with fill retail markup. Why.

They only make sense if you have a good fresh packaged items that you can no longer make use of (e.g. single serve packages of baby formula your kid ages out of)....

CautionWIP (he/him) 🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦🕎Oct 6, 2023

@krupo @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay And again, still makes more sense to donate to your local food bank directly, as most grocery chains simply go with whoever the largest foodbank is in terms of where they direct their donations.

Chris Raymond Oct 9, 2023

@Caution I've also bought and donated grocery store gift cards (specified by the charitable organization) to enable people to buy what they want.

The Carrier Oct 8, 2023

@krupo @Caution @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay I always get the urge to just start moving stock from the shelves to the donation bin directly. If it doesn't leave the store I'm not stealing it.

CautionWIP (he/him) 🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦🕎Oct 8, 2023

@signalthirteen @krupo @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay Right?

@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote Oct 6, 2023

@Caution @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay I’ve volunteered at food banks over the years & the stuff that made me cringe was over priced, over processed & over packaged specialty foods when they could’ve bought tons more genuine necessities.

CautionWIP (he/him) 🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦🕎Oct 6, 2023

@Pineywoozle @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay Speaking as someone who has both run and lived off of food banks/distro, those kinds of things showing up as a surprise addition are actually quite nice, a lot of the time, though your basic point is not incorrect.

I’ve had some fabulous meals because a local Whole Foods overbought Camembert and needed to offload it, or Thrifty’s overestimated the local demand for turkey. Variety is the spice of life and all that jazz. 😄 getting something shiny (as it were) makes the whole thing a lot more pleasant, IMO.

MCDuncanLab Oct 6, 2023

@Caution @Pineywoozle @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay

I learned last fall that our local foodbank will take garden produce, so I planted extra this year to share. Unfortunately, the smoky hot spring crippled the garden. There wasn't ever more than one spare squash or cucumber a week, which is not worth firing up the car to get out to the warehouse to donate it.

I just gave our extras to the custodians or students at work.

Hoping for next year.

Daisy Doo & TuxieGirl Betty Oct 6, 2023

@MCDuncanLab @Caution @Pineywoozle @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay Our growing season here in Topeka seemed super short before the heat formed arrived and killed everything off 😟

Second Chance Bikes Oct 8, 2023

@Caution @Pineywoozle @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay

It was always exciting for me as a food rescue volunteer, and for the grocery store bakery person, and for the food pantry staff, when I picked up fancy birthday cakes. I sometimes hung around to see what customer got a cake. Pantry staff had family info on shoppers, would id birthday kids and supply a cake the mom & dad had no idea was coming.

CautionWIP (he/him) 🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦🕎Oct 8, 2023

@2CB @Pineywoozle @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay That’s gorgeous. 😍

@pineywoozle ‘s #3WordNote Oct 8, 2023

@2CB @Caution @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay That’s so sweet! This one pantry was always tossing old milk & stale donuts. I taught em how to make bread pudding so they could tell people picking up milk that was only good for a few days that once it’s a little off it still perfectly safe & tasty to cook with (as long as it’s only a bit off & not chunky lol ) -I always use old milk for pancakes & cakes, we waste so much food)

Second Chance Bikes Oct 7, 2023

@Caution @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay

I have long held that buying items to donate is mostly silly, but with exceptions:

Some people are loathe to donate cash because they think it will be used for drugs, tobacco, etc. If getting something from them won't work otherwise, guided in-kind donations despite charities' better buying power are better than nothing.

Charities are limited in what they can buy. DO donate feminine products, diapers, select other items to food pantries. Get their list.

CautionWIP (he/him) 🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦🕎Oct 7, 2023

@2CB @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay Hard agree. It’s rather how I feel about people that won’t give money directly to those begging. Fine. Be a controlling judgmental dock while you’re assuaging your class guilt. At least give put pre-paid cards for grocery stores instead of McDonalds gift certificates or sandwiches. Let them decide at what they need from an “acceptable” list that covers more than overpriced fast food or your shitty tuna sandwiches.

Not gonna lie, growing up the implicit (explicit, really) paternalism around food baskets rather than the money needed to cover bills sucked at times, but it was still better than nothing.

Second Chance Bikes Oct 8, 2023

@Caution feminine products. Pantries cannot buy them. Thay are bound by regs similar to SNAP. Fòod only. No toiletries, diapers, tp, etc.

CautionWIP (he/him) 🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦🕎Oct 8, 2023

@2CB This would be in the US, yes?

Second Chance Bikes Oct 9, 2023

CautionWIP (he/him) 🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦🕎Oct 9, 2023

@2CB Gotcha. I knew SNAP didn’t allow for such things, I didn’t realize food banks were hampered by the same idiocy. :(

Second Chance Bikes Oct 10, 2023

@Caution
I think it is only if they get federal funding probably from the same authorising legislation. The pantry I worked for is big; gets several vanloads a day from retail grocery stores plus truckloads from the Northern Illinois Food Bank which buys from manufacturers. I used to schmooze the backroom folks at super targets to give me damaged boxes of feminine products and diapers - and bicycles! All that was supposed to go to dumpster but I'm a smooth talker!😀😀😀

CautionWIP (he/him) 🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦🕎Oct 10, 2023

@2CB Means-testing is just the worst.

Harriet Monkhouse Oct 9, 2023

@Caution @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay I've been told that some food bank clients turn down fresh produce because it would mean switching the fridge back on, and they can't afford the electricity.

CautionWIP (he/him) 🏳️‍🌈🇨🇦🕎Oct 9, 2023

@HarrietMonkhouse @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay Right?

Bethany Berger Oct 21, 2023

@Caution @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay Read this chain & just donated to my local food bank on got this lovely image in the thank you 🥰.

Jonathan Oct 6, 2023

@kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay a million times this!

Creating lists of things to get often backfires because one item gets too much attention leaving one food bank with, for instance, shelves of salt and pepper.

You're spending the money anyway, might as well give it directly to them and they can get what they need, not what you might think they need.

@kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay It sucks that doing so *feels* worse. Like, it feels like you don't actually care because giving something tangible takes effort while giving money does not. But yes, it totally *is* better for the reasons described

Sean Eric Fagan Oct 6, 2023

@reina @Artsandsocks @rjay I don't get that, though.

Walk into pretty much any charity and give them $50 and they will be grateful and very happy.

(Walk into pretty much any charity and give them a check for $1k and you will get to see the highest-ranked person in the building at the time.)

@kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay It feels less human. A gift that took effort is more precious than one that didn't.

It takes zero effort to give you money for your birthday. You'll probably be happy I gave you the money because you can spend it on whatever. But whatever you spend those money on won't have any special connection to you because of it. But if I was your good friend and recognised a need you had, went out to get you something that fills that need, and gave it to you, that gift would feel sooo much better, maybe it'll be something you charish for much longer because it has a personal story for you. And giving that gift and seeing your reaction when I give it to you feels much better than the zero-effort "here, have some money".

The thing is, this is why it *feels* worse to give money to a charital cause than it does giving a tangible thing, even if the reality of it is that giving money in this case is logically better.

Sidenote: I've actually never seen a check irl. The fact that it's still even a thing in the US is totally absurd to me ...

David Zaslavsky Oct 7, 2023

@reina @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay Thanks for explaining 😄

I get the sense from your explanation that there are people who value a gift almost entirely based on the thought that went into it. In that context what you're saying makes total sense. The other side of the proverbial coin, though, is people who value gifts primarily based on how useful the gifts actually are to them. When you're gifting to one of those people, there's always a risk that the thing you identified a need for and lovingly picked out for them is not actually what they wanted or needed, and then your gift falls flat.

That never happens with money though; the recipient can *always* use the money to get something useful for them. So to those people, it comes across as *more* thoughtful to give money, because it signifies that the giver cared enough to ensure that the recipient winds up with something valuable to them, rather than something that makes the giver feel good but may be worthless to the recipient.

David Zaslavsky Oct 7, 2023

@reina @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay Anyway, I figured I'd share that in case it helps make giving money to a food bank seem any less impersonal or more precious or so on.

I bet that, in general, organizations (as opposed to people) which receive donations are the second type of recipient, the utilitarian type, because organizations don't have human feelings. (Even though the good ones will act in a way that simulates empathy and kindness)

@diazona @kithrup @Artsandsocks @rjay Yeah, just so we're very clear here; I 100% agree that you should give what the organisation wants most if you want to help out. Asking them what their need is is the best course of action. Be it money or items (though money likely makes most sense in most cases).

I wrote what I wrote to highlight why I believe people prefer giving items rather than money. Another might be just to get rid of excess stuff they bought and don't have space for though xD

I also hope that people donating to charities take their time to figure out what is actually needed most :)

Left Coast Bec Oct 5, 2023

@Artsandsocks @rjay I'm on the board of a local special needs foodbank (diabetics, cancer pateints, elderly, etc). This is so true, as it also helps us buy special needs products like Ensure and protein drinks for folks who may have trouble swallowing.

Simple Nomad Oct 9, 2023

@Artsandsocks @rjay I donate cash monthly to a non-religious non-political area food bank. The big asks I’ve heard from them include 1) donate regularly not just at the holidays, and 2) if you want to donate food instead make sure it is non-perishables otherwise they can’t take it.

The Skeptic's Book of Lists Oct 10, 2023

@Artsandsocks @rjay In Canada grocery chains are making huge profits. They don't need us funding their charity PR campaigns, that's for sure.

synlogic Oct 10, 2023

@Artsandsocks @rjay donating anything BUT cash is usually unwise. cash can be turned into literally anything else needed. why humanity invented it, lol

I knew someone in bad shape once. theyre pants shredded with BIG gaping holes. he said a "good samaritan" then gave him... 2 shirts

not pants!

not a shirt!

2 shirts

cuz that makes total sense

and the whole "cash can be turned into pants or shirt or food or phone bill or gas or or" seems to escape people

BUI is inevitable in a sane future

Raymond Sep 26, 2023

@rjay It's more effective to send cash donations, as it gives the ability to purchase in-demand food rather than potentially having a glut of less effective donations.

Plus it allows them to get it at a cheaper price as well.

Shannon Clark Oct 5, 2023

@arem @rjay it’s also the case that especially in recent years many food banks have seen both a huge increase in demand and a decline in volunteers which is another reason cash donations can be preferred - they allow for efficiencies that food or even non-perishables donations don’t as those need to be sorted while cash donations can be used to buy items that then can be more efficiently sorted for use (my late father was the president of a food bank)

KDramaQn 🍷⚽️🎬📚🇨🇦🇬🇧Sep 26, 2023

I worry about us all and always wish that I could do more. When I can give/donate, I invariably end up purchasing items with children in mind. Baby food, powdered milk, granola bars, juice boxes, Quaker instant oatmeal etc and yes, crackers and PB&J.

Your list now has me thinking outside of the KD box so to speak.

nausicaa Oct 5, 2023

@rjay The best thing to donate to food banks is _always_ cash. Food bank workers know what they need and can buy in bulk at cheaper rates than individuals in grocery stores. A monetary donation goes farther and can be used to provide what's actually needed.

Berkubernetus Oct 5, 2023

@rjay I'll add: money is always welcome. Food banks usually have vendors they can buy from at a discount.

Philip Mallegol-Hansen Oct 5, 2023

@rjay @PragmaticAndy A profoundly important lesson that’s easy to forget in all sorts of contexts:

Ask people what they need, don’t give them what you think they should have.

MCDuncanLab Oct 5, 2023

As others have said, food banks can make a cash donation have a bigger impact than the same value of food that you donate

However, I also donate from my pantry rotation. I keep a record of 'best by' dates for my pantry items like flour, rice, beans, oil etc when something is within 1/4 of its lifespan. I donate it and replace it with fresh stock.

It allows me to keep well stocked without worrying I'm going to waste something.

MCDuncanLab Oct 5, 2023

If anyone is in the Ann Arbor area, Food Gatherers is a fantastic charity that will make the most of your cash or food donation.

They also have many opportunities to volunteer like in the warehouse or kitchen, so if you want to feel more connected to your charitable donation that's an option.

https://www.foodgatherers.org/

#Charity #FoodBanks #FoodDrives #Volunteering #FoodSecurity #Poverty

Food Gatherers – Food Gatherers exists to alleviate hunger and eliminate its causes in our community.

Food Gatherers exists to alleviate hunger and eliminate its causes in our community. We distribute millions of pounds of food to 150 non-profit programs serving low-income adults, children and families in Washtenaw County

Sean Eric Fagan Oct 5, 2023

@rjay If you want to help, don't donate food, donate *money*.

Louis Ingenthron Oct 5, 2023

@rjay Wait, what? Am I the only one that makes Kraft Mac & cheese with just water? The milk and butter are superfluous.

So‑Called Vaughn Oct 5, 2023

@LouisIngenthron @rjay This. I mostly made it with just powder growing up. Adding a splash of milk or a pat of butter is great, but not having any isn’t a showstopper.

Or, you know, you can go off-the-charts #gourmet and spring for the ‘deluxe’ box with the goop.

Jennifed Oct 5, 2023

@rjay Strongly agree with recommendations to CALL your local food bank and ask them what they need at the time besides cash. Ask them specifically what they need that is unlikely to be purchased by the food bank in the near future.
Then give them cash and drop off the other items as you can.
I strongly recommend seasonal/holiday chocolates, candies, and specialty foods/beverages donated BEFORE the holiday. Spices! Herbs! Seasoned salt!

Participation in societal celebrations is important!

Pusher Of Pixels (old account)Oct 5, 2023

@rjay taking this excellent advice into account.. another great #HelpHack is if there's a 2 for 1 sale, get 2 and donate the other.

Mr. Funk E. Dude 🫠Oct 5, 2023

@rjay As someone who has volunteered in all different kinds of food banks, I whole heartedly co-sign this toot. 💯% fact.

Please read and look over this list or just ask your local food bank what they need.

Jim Oct 6, 2023

@Mrfunkedude @rjay May I make a case for a regular donation of money? Foodbanks often need to pay rent & bills, hire/borrow/insure vans & pay for fuel. Any surplus is used to purchase the things people often forget to donate. Regular income also helps to budget, plan in advance & keep the lights on.

Jim Oct 7, 2023

@Mrfunkedude @rjay Even if it's only £1/$1/€1 a month, if there're several hundred people doing it, that's their rent covered.

consumableJoy Oct 5, 2023

@rjay @Cbfoley Can they use Kraft Mac and cheese with the pre-made sauce packet?

Tearcell Games Oct 5, 2023

@rjay there was a 'fun' Adam Ruins Everything on the topic, I love the end of it with the '1 dollar worth of food'

https://youtu.be/XbYInILDj6Q

Adam Ruins Everything - Why You Shouldn't Donate Canned Food to Charities

YouTube

Cera Cole Oct 5, 2023

@rjay This list is great! Also, if you are going to donate anything besides cash, look at their website or give them a call to find out what they definitely don't want as well as what they need.

Every food pantry will have a different set up and not all will be able to store certain types of food that need refrigerator or freezer.

My local ones also have an Amazon wish list and send out notices on their social media accounts when they need something specific.

If you can, donate year round!

Tiny Frightening Woman Oct 5, 2023

@rjay @richardinsandy A great discussion in the comments here, too! Food banks also need more strong volunteers - every one I've ever volunteered for, it's mostly older women. (I'm an older woman myself, but I tend to push myself more than I should)

Chris Dudley Oct 6, 2023

@baba_lilith @rjay @richardinsandy I'm laughing a little. Where I volunteer, we mostly do perishable food at the sell by date. We have leftover bread and pastry that won't go another week. The woman who picks that up to feed animals is older than me and also a good bit stronger. I see what you're saying but we old guys can feel a little feeble too.

Tiny Frightening Woman Oct 6, 2023

@ccdudley85 @rjay @richardinsandy Yes, that's why I said we need more strong people - I didn't say men.