PSA: If you donate food...

[stripe]

So should the sardine donors stop donating them? Or should they donate 5x as many? :confused:

 

I think the issue is, are you donating sardines because you love them, think they're healthy and delicious, and want to share them with others, OR because you have a dusty tin in the cupboard and want to get rid of them? Do you send your worst, yuckiest food to the food bank or your best stuff? Should aid recipients be given good food specially chosen for their needs or be given unwanted castoffs that are inappropriate for their circumstances?

[ElizaG]

I think the issue is, are you donating sardines because you love them, think they're healthy and delicious, and want to share them with others, OR because you have a dusty tin in the cupboard and want to get rid of them? Do you send your worst, yuckiest food to the food bank or your best stuff?

I don't think this is the issue at all. What's "yucky" is highly subjective. As it happens, we like sardines and eat them often. But what if we happened to like pickled pigs' ears stuffed with ants, and were willing to travel all the way to Botswana each year to procure them? Would it be appropriate to pick up an extra pallet to donate to the food pantry?

 

I really can't claim to know what other people would like, let alone what's the most economical way of meeting their needs for nutritious and good-tasting food. This is why we usually just give cash, and let someone else figure it out. :tongue_smilie:

 

But when they're asking specifically for canned goods, we will pick out some everyday stuff, and also include all the stuff that's been sitting unopened in the back of our cabinets -- whether due to allergies, or it being too spicy for our children, or our just having bought too much. Sometimes it's expired, or borderline. I know for a fact that our parish food pantry gives out expired food, and that people eat it (I've eaten some of it myself). Would it be better for me to throw it out?

[ocelotmom]

I think the issue is, are you donating sardines because you love them, think they're healthy and delicious, and want to share them with others, OR because you have a dusty tin in the cupboard and want to get rid of them? Do you send your worst, yuckiest food to the food bank or your best stuff? Should aid recipients be given good food specially chosen for their needs or be given unwanted castoffs that are inappropriate for their circumstances?

...or maybe they donated them because they personally hate them, but know that others feel differently?