I have been donating a fairly substantial number of hours to my local food bank lately. Maybe a few hours a day a couple times a week. I’ve been doing this since the summer. I’d agree with what has been said here. Bottom line is that it hardly matters what it is. The need right now is so big that all donations are useful.
I can easily help stock a complete grocery store type shelf of just about anything you can imagine, literally from soup to nuts. By the next day (or a day after that) it will be completely empty and filled with something entirely different. They have such an extreme need right now that anything you could possibly donate (canned, dried, prepared, raw, whatever) will be most appreciated and will be quickly out the door.
Anything you have the means and heart to donate is more than adequate. I’ve seen everything from fruitcakes to japanese noodles, barbecue sauce to marinated mushrooms, flour and corn meal to canned chili con carne. None of it goes to waste. If you enjoy it, chances are someone else will, too. Wheat thins? Great! Canned peaches? Right on! Pancake mix? Absolutely! I’ve stocked many varieties of sugar free/low salt items, too. If you have a surplus of any restricted-diet type stuff around, by all means, take that to the food bank. Many of the elderly are diet restricted so these things are good for the food bank to have around as an option.
If you are still concerned, just give your local food bank a ring. They will be more than willing to answer any questions you have and can suggest what they may need the most. My understanding is that some food banks can’t give out certain toiletries and subsequently must donate these items elsewhere. Not a bad thing, really, but as they function on donated money too, sometimes this can be an extra expense. Mine did take in these products but I think they went elsewhere. I never saw them on the food pantry floor. If you wish to donate these items I would make sure that the organization both takes and distributes them. Most shelters will take these things directly and I am sure they are as in need as the food banks are. If your local food bank can deal with these items too, knock yourself out!
Oh, I completely agree on the cash donation idea, too. If you really just don’t know what to donate, cash is a great answer!
My dollar store sells packs of toothbrushes for a buck. I also pick up a couple extra from the dentist’s office each time I get my teeth cleaned. These are always extremely appreciated.
For beans, remember that peas, chick peas and lentils are also beans, i.e., high protein. Maybe it’s because the names don’t include the word “beans”, but many of my American friends didn’t think of them as beans.
Several of my local supermarkets carry the “1, 10, 20€” tags; I asked and all of them pool the donations (some monthly, some weekly) and give items to local charities at cost.
I travel a lot and have made a habit of grabbing the soaps and shampoos from the hotel rooms I stay in (I typically bring my own shampoo, and if I stay more than one night I continue using the single little soap bar I opened on the first night). About once a year I end up with a grocery bag full of the stuff, which I then donate to the local shelter.
We are asked to donate canned goods (not things in glass jars, glass can break) but what if the cans are over the expiration date? What happens to old cans of food? Do food pantries just throw them away? I never thought about this before, I myself use cans from my pantry that are waaaay expired or just a month or two out of date. (I know this conjures up a picture of someone using a food drive as an opportunity to get rid of those cans of 10 year old lima beans and a package of rice from 1978!)
I went in search of the world’s smallest whole turkey today (may have found it – not too bad, anyway) and there were people collecting for three food banks standing outside the store. So while I was shopping I picked up a large container of Quaker quick oats, a medium-sized jar of Folger’s instant coffee, and a five-pound bag of Meow Mix.
Were those good choices? (The girl seemed pleased to get the cat food.)
A lot of people who have pets have been abandoning them because they can’t afford to feed them when they lose a job so pet food is always an excellent choice. I’ve actually read a couple of articles about how tuna is picked up from food pantries by people who need to feed their cats but can’t afford cat food. Coffee is something that many people would dearly appreciate and oats are always useful. I think you made some excellent choices!
Oh, there was also a quart of shelf-stable organic tomato & red pepper soup. I eat oatmeal at least three mornings a week. Had I been at the other store, I would have bought a couple of bags of it (about four pounds of oats from the bin fit in a bag) and given that.
Quasimodem deserves some credit for the kat fud, because of his efforts at SDMB and elsewhere to get us to remember our furry friends.
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Pancake mix. It comes in large resealable bags now and can make a lot of breakfasts. Bisquick is another staple that can be used for many things. Cooking oil is something that is used a lot and a big bottle can save a family money. As already mentioned, pasta and rice don’t spoil and only require water to cook. A big bag of potatos and a bag of onions. If you can stock the shelves with the things that are needed to start to cook every meal, then all you need is the fresh veggies or some meat to complete the meal. Flour.
Needy families are less likely to spend money to back-stock the kitchen, because they have to worry about what will be dinner* today*. And they can spend a lot on all those back-stock kitchen staples.
Of course this assumes that someone knows the basics of cooking.
A couple of years back, we had some bags of flour and sugar left over from some holiday baking etc. We called the nearest food bank and asked if they’d like to have them and they said yes, which actually surprised me a bit. I guess every now and then they do have a demand for such.
I do try to go for stuff that doesn’t require much prep - AND which is stuff I’d eat myself. I seem to recall getting a lot of soup and canned fruit when I was buying stuff for a food drive recently. The suggestion of protein foods (tuna etc.) is a good one.
Creamed corn??? Egad. Those people are poor, not stupid!
I agree. There are definitely folks with housing and utilities who would be seeking food, and homeless folks who need ready to eat stuff.
Good point. It’s not as true for local independent banks but I’ve heard that larger (state-wide) distribution centers can buy in bulk and make the dollars go a lot farther.
One thing I didn’t see mentioned (sorry if I missed it) - diapers. Diapers are expensive and kids, especially little babies, go through them really fast. These, along with the toiletries & menstrual supplies, are things that don’t get donated as much, but people really need.
I agree that simply donating money is great as well, but you can also just call the shelter/food bank and ask them what they need the most.
I’m glad you asked, though - I work for a non-profit and sometimes we do get a glut of items or restricted money* that are just difficult to use, so it’s good to think about what they need, rather than just what you want to give.
*donations where the donor specifies what they want the money to go to. It can be really broad, like “for kids with diabetes”, or extremely specific, like “charity care for a kid with <extremely rare disease”, when we only get one or two cases of <extremely rare disease> a year, and the kid’s insurance covers most of the care.
I think people might tend to spend more if they donate goods rather than money, since it’s easy to lose track of how much you’re spending at the store.
