I try to donate about once a month (I buy extra when I shop) and it's always food items. This expands the possibilities. Thanks for posting.

It's a terrible feeling going into one of those places. You are begging for food, and as a guy at least, admitting that you are a failure when it comes to providing for your family. But feelings are feelings, and poor people are taught early and often that they have no cause for pride in any case.

The first time I went to a food bank my wife cried at how much food they gave us. She cried.

Anyway, thanks for what you do. It might not feel like it, but it really matters to those of us who need this stuff.

Meat both fresh and canned (tuna, salmon, beef, corned beef, spam, etc)

Produce. Produce is very hard for the poor to get.

Canned meals, like raviolis, stew, etc.

Canned fruit (not often donated)

But as this OP suggest there are other things that mean a lot.

Feminine products

Pet food

toothpaste and tooth brushes

only accepts non-perishable items (no meat or fresh produce). There are two places in town that serve hot meals every day and those places will accept perishables. They also can't accept home-canned goods which is too bad because I can pretty much all year round. I will, however, start picking up some of the other excellent suggestions, treat foods (canned fruits, chocolates, granola bars, etc.) and personal hygiene products. I also never thought of pet food but a lot of the homeless people I see have dogs and, believe it or not, cats.

But some have them because they live in a house and their friends or relatives leave them with them because they lose their homes . Moving from home to home (couch surfing) or living in your car makes pet ownership difficult, so they leave their pets with friends. Also, some pets get abandoned and are rescued. I found a local pet store that will donate bags of pet food that gets too old for their shelves.

We have a large foodbank. A typical month we serve 1,500 boxes of food for families. That's one box per family per month. The number is about 1,750 in December.

We get our "fresh" meat as frozen from stores that would otherwise have to throw it out. It's called rescue meat and is carefully controlled by the health dept. We had to buy a refrigerated truck to be able to rescue the meat and insure that it was kept frozen. The larger pieces of frozen meat are to difficult to repackage into family size, so we donate it to local soup kitchens. We are in the Pacific NW and when lucky get large quantities of salmon. It is a messy job cutting it up into smaller sizes and freezing.


I hit up local dentists for toothbrushes and sample toothpaste also. We also, sometimes buy cheap toilet paper. It's always needed and expensive.

Thanks for sharing.

Bryant

Since they know their local needs and their current stock, that's the best place to check.

For example, the local food bank where I live has their lists broken down by program (food, demonstration garden, baby etc) and updates their requests for each (it's down at the bottom of this page.) http://sacramentofoodbank.org/support/host-a-donation-drive.html

Especially in wet, cold seasons. Skin fungal infections often start from the ground up, so to speak.

They can walk through a pair of socks in a week, easily.

Did you see the piece about the organization that is going to put a refurbished Muni bus on a scheduled route in SF - showers, toilets, a place to change clothes, etc. ?

item are never mentioned Thanks for the list.

Christmas, in return for our enjoyment of their wonderfully-decorated yard:

http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/mc-pictures-ent-bill-whites-christmas-lights-tour-20121212,0,7261544.photogallery

are given to the homeless who may come once a week for one. One for men and of course the other for women. It is not unusual for folks to donate granola bars, cookies etc... as treats for the regular food bags that the folks may get every 3 weeks. What is really great about our food bank is that people are not turned way because they do not live with in a certain zip code. Many food banks require that you live with in a certain area. We have had folks from over 100 miles come if they are in the valley for the week end.

Everything that is suggested above is truly appreciated by the food banks and the clients that they serve. Spinbaby thank you for this list.

so people could use it to get the things that they, personally, need and want. We could avoid all sorts of headaches trying to decide what is best for poor people. It could also help with the fact that food banks and food stamps tend to overlap quite a lot, when what's really needed, much of the time, are things that SNAP won't help with. Like the feminine hygeine products. Toilet paper. Paper towels. Laundry soap. Bath and shower products. Socks. Underwear. Batteries for the smoke alarm. Replacement window panes. Weather stripping and other winterizing products to help reduce heating costs. Engine oil and filters. Gas. Bus fare. Money for all the little fees the kinds' schools spring on people. Funding to cover the unpaid leave people have to take to shuttle their kids to the doctor, or to stay home with them when they're sick. Winter hats, gloves, boots, and coats. Movie tickets to take the kids to see a movie over Christmas break. A bottle of inexpensive red wine. Furnace filters. Cat food, and litter. Vet bills. Toothpaste. Badly needed new tires. Textbooks. Sunscreen. Insect repellant. Ibuprofen. Antacids. A snow shovel. Wood glue, clamps, screws, and angle braces to fix the cheap Walmart furniture when it starts to fall apart after a month.

If only there was a way to let people decide what they need for themselves, instead of loading them up with pasta, canned peaches, and bible tracts...

you nailed it, that list is spot on, especially for those with kids

You want to just give people money?!? Are you insane?!?

How on earth are we supposed to maintain any control over these creatures if we just turn them loose with a pocketful of cash? You know what will happen don't you? They'll just go out and blow it on something they enjoy.

This is a great article and I hope it inspires many to donate the listed items.



Julie

But then again, I always donate money instead of goods. That way, the food bank has the choice of what they need. Besides, instead of me paying full retail price for the items, I can make the money go so much further for them. Our food bank says that it can get seven times as much for one dollar as I can get.

Also, please, do not give anything that has expired. Food banks are required to throw it in the trash. This is very upsetting to the workers who throw it out, if adds to the pantry's costs to have it hauled away, and it is a waste of food that I, personally, would still use. Don't assume that just because people are needy that they can be given out of date food. From stocking in a food pantry, I have learned that if I were hungry, I would dumpster dive in their dumpsters.

the homeless. They need things that can be eaten straight out of a can and that do not require any cooking. Things with pull tab lids are helpful, too, because it makes it easier when you are on the move and don't have a can opener. A box of disposable forks and spoons might be nice, too.

All of the ideas I've seen here are good and whatever you can do is much appreciated. My husband volunteers at our local food bank and says they can use almost anything. Before they got a grant to buy better coolers, they would give out things immediately that were perishable to whoever showed up that day. So sometimes people got fresh veggies, salad and bread that would otherwise spoil. When they get gigantic boxes of cereal, they open them, combine in a big container and then repackage them into smaller units in ziplock bags. Expiration dates on canned goods are important but don't necessarily mean things are thrown out. The expiration date on some things was SEVEN years past the date stamped on the can. Of course, they did check for rusted, dented or damaged and leaking cans. Damaged, dented or rusted canned good did get tossed.

Our local grocery stores give away tremendous amounts of food to the local food bank and that includes Wal-Mart, Publix and several restaurants. Now that the food bank has a better cooler and freezer they can keep some things and know they won't spoil. They also pass along some things to the local soup kitchens. It's a good arrangement where organizations in the community look out after each other.

But one final thought......even though there is a lot donated and people are generous......IT IS NEVER ENOUGH to meet the need. Everything you give helps whether toiletries, food or special treats.

personal products, but spices are things I hadn't thought about.

Thanks for sharing it.

At work a few weeks ago there was a service day where we packed toiletry kits for homeless people in coordination with a non-profit that works to provide health care for the homeless here in the Boston area.

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I do realize that this (donating money) is the ONLY option for some donors, as well as they only way some Food Banks operate.

I recently got off the welfare merry-go-round, and now am able to donate.

So, I donate what I missed the most - fresh meat and veggies.

This I can do as it is a small community, not bound by a whole lot of management, by-laws and so on.

I personally shop for the food, have the butcher make up the portion sizes I wish, and personally deliver the food to the Food Bank on it's day of operation - ours is only open for a few hours every other week.

My caveat?

My donations are to be distributed IN ADDITION to the clients' normal allotment.

Cash donations only purchase/replace stock - so maybe the variety of food will increase,

but the volume to the recipient will not.

So - I give the recipients more variety - AND volume.

But cash is good, although I've seen some Food Banks a wee bit heavy on Administration expenses.

Fortunately, ours is administered/financed mostly by The Sisters of Charity (nuns).

Of all my social functions (which are few anyways) - those few minutes as I deliver the food are the most rewarding.

By far.

CC

Every friday, a few thousand bags of food go to school kids. These bags are packed to fit in a small backpack, that the kids re-use. There are three menus...A...B....C.

The packing of these is done assembline style by volunteers. The menus are set, so the packing order is set....so they can be efficiently packed and sealed. It would be very difficult to pack these, without using same type items. Also, each menu does have a targeted nutritional value. For these reasons, the food bank does need cash money in addition to donated items.

And the main thing we are always short of is baby food. It is so expensive, especially when you consider how many jars you go thru each day to feed one baby. Formula is also in great demand.

At Christmas we asked for extra donations for baking and the community responded wonderfully. Lots of flour, sugar, chocolate, baking powder, etc. - even cookie decorations. Families were so happy.

We try to reduce any feelings of shame or humility. We allow our patrons to "shop" as opposed to handing them a sack full of stuff they don't want or need.

We have certainly seen a surge since food stamps have been cut, so please donate generously as you can.

I usually buy those $10 bags of groceries when I go into Safeway, and I often buy an extra can or two to go in there. I can add some of these items, too.

My church's food pantry gives out toilet paper. I think I'll ask the deacon if she could use some "feminine" items, too.

Some of these things are on the list, but we never thought about spices. Doh.

I used to work at a place that had a food drive, and most everybody brought canned vegetables. I'd bring stuff like rice, noodles, beef stew, etc.

Instead of donating to my local food bank this year, I donated to a family member that's been hit hard, and been sick, these last few months. It wasn't much, but I well know that every little bit helps.

As for cash, I wouldn't give my local food bank a nickle. The people running it get "paid" very well, and two of them are adulterous scum.