I got as a free sample a large amount of a certain food.
After doing some research I found out that this food is quite unhealthy (and this is not generally known).
So now I don’t want this food. I have 2 choices: give it away or throw it away.
I could give it to the food bank, but then I feel like I’m saying this food isn’t good enough for me, but it’s good enough for some poor person who probably doesn’t know any better.
I could just throw it away, but I feel guilty about throwing away something that others spend good money to buy. What a waste!
Just to make things more difficult, this food is specifically for children. So I can’t just justify it by saying that the person who eats it should know better.
Can you return it to the sender? Might be particularly effective if you included a note as to why.
Unless the food is dangerous to ones health, I’d say go ahead and donate it. Having any food (even if it’s not healthy) is better than having none. Are we talking “not healthy” as in Froot Loops as opposed to oatmeal?
If the food is actually dangerous, and can’t be returned, I’d say toss it. No reason to foist it off on the less fortunate.
I didn’t mention the exact food because I don’t really want to get into a discussion about whether or not it’s healthy. Just humor me and assume it’s bad for you.
I think it really matters what kind of unhealthy it is. Is it carcinogenic, or apt to cause illness? Or is it merely a high fat/empty calories type thing? Can the problem be deduced through the nutritional label (now with 100X the calories!) or is it something like an ingrediant which is kind of suspected of being dangerous but not generally badly regarded?
If it is merely unhealthy, I’d give it away. The people who recieve the food will be able to decide for themselves if it is something they want to eat or not. And there is always room for a little extra unhealthyness as a treat At least this way they will have a choice. Maybe for good karma you could buy some good stuff (like canned pinapple- the most appriciated thing that could ever be put in a food bin) and give that away, too.
If it is dangerous, I’d throw it out. Is it something your average person would eat if they knew what all it entailed? If not, toss it.
As long as it doesn’t have accute health risks (which I doubt, if it’s sold in a grocery store, etc), I say donate it. You’re not forcing anyone to eat it. You won’t eat it yourself, so there’s no point in keeping it around until you throw it out.
Of course, you’re now obligated to tell us what it is, in case we’re also not aware of the unhealthfulness (is that a word) of this foodstuff.
(Disclaimer: I’m assuming it’s not actually dangerous, but rather unhealthy in the Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs sense, or you wouldn’t be asking this at all.) Donate it. For goodness’ sake, it’ll be going to people who are hungry, and it’s surely better to feed your kids Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs than nothing at all.
Yes, I know that’s simplistic, but the point is that barring contamination, food is nothing but fuel. Making a judgement on the nutritional qualities of a food and withholding it from people who are going hungry on that basis is elitist and downright ridiculous. Any food eaten to excess can be bad for you. If the food isn’t dangerous from a contamination standpoint, then let someone else who can use it, use it.
well it tastes good… and makes your sperm taste better… I don’t know if that is true or not… but I did eat a can of pineapple once, and my GF did mention that it was abnormally sweet…
I am sure that is not what the above post was refering to though… just my 2 cents…
It’s just good. So much of food baskets are really bizarre off-brand stuff that the recipients really have to work to figure out how to use (what would you do if you got a five pound box of shrimp flavored bread crumbs, some dented cans of eggplant soup, some powdered milk and three kids whining that they want dinner?). While food bank recipients appriciate anything, nothing makes them feel human like a can of something that is good- something that people would choose to eat if they had a choice. Something that feels like regular-people food.
And really, what’s better than pinapple? It’s like canned sunshine! Kids love it. It’s healthy. Keep in mind a lot of these people drink orange-flavored Kool-Aide instead of oragne juice- OJ is pretty expensive. I grew up in a household where buying a can of fruit instead of a can of corn or greenbeans was a rare and luxerious choice- only feasable when fruit was on sale. Trust me. Pinapple is the best thing ever.