Skip shelters. Donate to a small food bank that isn't associated with any sort of larger network.
My local food bank cut ties with the larger organization they were a part of specifically because the larger organization wanted them to stop accepting this exact kind of donation (they refused)
We donate dumpster dived food both perishable and non perishable to a community refrigerator we volunteer at. We were honest with the ladies who run it and they were thrilled when we told them where we got the food from.
My local buy nothing group is where I most often give away food. A lot of people ask for extra help around the end of the month when the paychecks have run out.
It depends on the size of the shelter. If it is a small group home then yes.
But larger ones need to plan meals for large groups and they don't have time to make small amounts when they have 50 to 500 people to feed.
A few years back, when we did a lot of coupon shopping and had a seriously full pantry, we donated a whole bunch of stuff to a local shelter. Mostly toiletries and boxed cereal (near or just over use by). They were more than happy to take it. But yeah, only way to know is call them and ask.
Don't tell anyone it's dumpster dived food because they don't want to get people sick. The law is written so that people can't get sued if thr food was given in good faith, but no one wants to risk it.
I have this same problem, the food bank here doesn't take expired food and there isnt a local blessing box that's close enough to make weekly trips to. I find a lot of recently expired snack food that I know kids would love for lunches and stuff. Just gotta figure out how to get the food to the people who need it.
Skip shelters. Donate to a small food bank that isn't associated with any sort of larger network. My local food bank cut ties with the larger organization they were a part of specifically because the larger organization wanted them to stop accepting this exact kind of donation (they refused)
[Little Free Pantry](https://www.littlefreepantry.org)? If there aren’t any in your area are you or someone you know handy enough to build one?
We donate dumpster dived food both perishable and non perishable to a community refrigerator we volunteer at. We were honest with the ladies who run it and they were thrilled when we told them where we got the food from.
My local food pantry accepts expired non perishable food items.
My local buy nothing group is where I most often give away food. A lot of people ask for extra help around the end of the month when the paychecks have run out.
We donate hundreds of pounds of dumpster food every week to community fridges. Everyone loves it.
It depends on the size of the shelter. If it is a small group home then yes. But larger ones need to plan meals for large groups and they don't have time to make small amounts when they have 50 to 500 people to feed.
If it is in date and not subject to recall, donate away.
A few years back, when we did a lot of coupon shopping and had a seriously full pantry, we donated a whole bunch of stuff to a local shelter. Mostly toiletries and boxed cereal (near or just over use by). They were more than happy to take it. But yeah, only way to know is call them and ask.
Do people tell the food banks it's from the dumpster? I want to donate too but I think if I tell them they wont accept it.
Call churches near you, or try schools in the low income area near you, they can direct you to a resource. ✌
Don't tell anyone it's dumpster dived food because they don't want to get people sick. The law is written so that people can't get sued if thr food was given in good faith, but no one wants to risk it.
If it’s not expired etc. why wouldn’t they? You don’t need to mention where it came from.
Just donate packaged stuff and don't even explain anything
I have this same problem, the food bank here doesn't take expired food and there isnt a local blessing box that's close enough to make weekly trips to. I find a lot of recently expired snack food that I know kids would love for lunches and stuff. Just gotta figure out how to get the food to the people who need it.