Feeding the Needy is Easy: A Guide to Making Your Food Donations Count

We all understand the basic need for food which is why food drives are popular events. From boy scouts to postal carriers, to the company we work for or the school our children attend, at some point this winter we'll be asked to donated canned or boxed food to our local food bank. Some people take these opportunities to clear out their cupboards of unwanted food or partially eaten items while others buy items that are cheap and low in nutrition, reasoning that quantity is better than quality. For those who wish to help but lack direction, they are a few basic guidelines you should know that will help all Food banks provide the best possible variety of food to the people they serve.

A popular misconception is that canned food items thrown into the barrel today will be placed directly into the hands of the hungry the following day. More typically, it can take up to 3 months before food items are redistributed to the poor in the community. The lag time is not due to lack of need, but simply the amount of time it takes to sort and repackage these items before being retrucked to secondary distribution sites called Food Pantries.

Direct donations to these local pantries tend to reach the community faster, but could also take up to several weeks before they are given to the poor. Before you start wondering to yourself how desperately that food was needed, keep in mind that a well run food pantry maintains an inventory not unlike a grocery store and the food you donated today, will be be feeding the poor next month.

For this reason, checking expiration dates is important and as tempting as it may be to buy those cheap jars of organic peanut butter from the discount outlets, remember that they'll probably be rancid before ending up in someone's home. Now most people see nothing wrong with old food, and will complain that food banks are being too picky and perhaps they are.