# Individuals donating \*food\* to food banks, not money -- is this effective? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 17, 2025, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929 "2025-11-17T19:12:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/161 "2026-01-17T16:16:42Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > At our local food bank, while it used to be suspicious that some people claimed they were picking up for others, it isn’t suspicious anymore. People are afraid of ICE here and for good reason-the school down the street has been a victim of ICE attacks more than once recently. Yep. The food bank where I donate serves that community and that’s exactly why I chose them. A good friend of mine delivers for Meals on Wheels in town. Anyone can sign up. While you never know anyone’s situation, he thinks that a couple of the clients are just lazy old dudes who want free meals that they can easily afford. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/162 "2026-02-10T20:08:10Z")
So, a neighborhood group just posted to Facebook that someone had donated a lot of frozen chicken and would be giving it out at a location until it ran out. My neighbor and cousin went, and what they were giving out were **50 pound** boxes, deep-frozen into a single block. Best by October 2025, but probably been frozen ever since they were packed. She’s splitting it with me and her brother, but it’ll be overnight at least until the block thaws enough to pull apart the individual chickens (and see if they are still good). [![](https://i.ibb.co/nsKZynyF/IMG-20260210-143434983.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/nsKZynyF/IMG-20260210-143434983.jpg) [![](https://i.ibb.co/zH29xJs8/IMG-20260210-150142993.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/zH29xJs8/IMG-20260210-150142993.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/163 "2026-02-10T20:16:31Z")
Fifty pounds to each recipient? That’s a lot. I wonder how many will be able to use that much, versus it ending up in the garbage. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/164 "2026-02-10T20:28:40Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Fifty pounds to each recipient? Yes. They had several dozen boxes. Probably literally a ton of chicken. That’s a crazy amount per person, but I can’t blame the volunteers for not wanting to thaw it all and portion it out. I just wonder what the story is of a business misestimating their chicken needs by that much. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/165 "2026-02-10T20:58:03Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Fifty pounds to each recipient? That’s a lot. The church i visited when i was checking on food resources for the homeless in our county had 50# bags of onions and potatoes. More reasonable than 50# of frozen chicken, sure, but still hard to use up before it goes bad. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/166 "2026-02-10T21:02:54Z")
Something like that would be MUCH easier to share than frozen-solid chickens. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/167 "2026-02-10T21:06:37Z")
True, a homeless camp could likely use one up. But they werent just for the homeless, also anyone who needed them. Right there, shelves of day old bread and big bags of taters and onions, free for the taking. The priest even insisted I take home a bag of the bread as it often goes bad before grabbed. I made a modest donation, of course. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/168 "2026-02-10T21:48:18Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Probably literally a ton of chicken. That’s a crazy amount per person, but I can’t blame the volunteers for not wanting to thaw it all and portion it out. > > I just wonder what the story is of a business misestimating their chicken needs by that much. Those rotisserie birds are ~4 lbs each. So a ton is ~500 birds. A restaurant or grocery store that does a lot of rotisserie chicken might move WAG 100 birds a day. So that’s less than a week’s worth for one store. Because of the sell-by dates I’m betting somebody somewhere flunked stock rotation and a pallet of birds got forgotten in the back of a freezer someplace. Once noticed they were too old to cook and serve per corporate policy. Donation time. That’s all surmise & guesswork and worth every penny you’ve paid for it. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/169 "2026-02-11T02:15:50Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The church i visited when i was checking on food resources for the homeless in our county had 50# bags of onions and potatoes. More reasonable than 50# of frozen chicken, sure, but still hard to use up before it goes bad If they’re iin good shape to start with and you’ve got good storage, potatoes and onions will keep quite a while. However, most people don’t have the right storage, especially for the potatoes. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/170 "2026-02-11T03:21:32Z")
I know you’re not really supposed to refrigerate potatoes, but I always have, and I’m glad I do because I’ve heard WAAAAAY too many horror stories about spoiled potatoes. I also refrigerate onions, although those don’t last very long either even though it’s just me. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/171 "2026-02-11T04:17:13Z")
If you refrigerate potatoes, it changed the flavor and texture. Starches convert to sugars at low temperatures in potatoes. Onions should keep quite a while in the fridge. Maybe you’re getting onions already near the end of their storage life. Or maybe you’re not getting storage varieties — some varieties of onions keep much longer than others. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/172 "2026-02-11T04:40:06Z")
When I said onions don’t last very long, I meant that I use them quickly. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/173 "2026-02-11T04:57:45Z")
Ah. Thanks for explanation; I’d misunderstood you. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/174 "2026-02-11T13:05:32Z")
I find both onions and potatoes keep for weeks at room temperature. The biggest issue is that’s they sometimes sprout, especially at this time of year, when they think it’s spring. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/175 "2026-02-11T14:41:15Z")
The box I mentioned turned out to have 10 whole (cleaned for rotisserie) chickens. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/176 "2026-02-11T16:06:46Z")
That’s a lot of chicken to use up quickly! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/177 "2026-02-11T16:37:55Z")
One a week for 10 weeks. They’re frozen. For a single guy like @Darren_Garrison that might be work. For a poor family w several kids, might be easy to get through 2 chickens per meal feeding the whole family. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/178 "2026-02-11T17:07:59Z")
I would think storage of that many frozen chickens would be an issue for most people. Few people will have enough space in their freezer. That many chickens would be good for people who have food trucks. They could probably go through them in a day or so. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/179 "2026-02-11T17:40:47Z")
Probably lots of people will end up sharing them out with others like my cousin. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929/180 "2026-02-11T17:48:59Z")
Now you just need a fryer and 2.5 Cokes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/individuals-donating-food-to-food-banks-not-money-is-this-effective/1024929.md?page=10)