Using "Wasted Food"

[dverna]

I also volunteer at a local food bank, and my experience is basically the same. We get bags of nuts, rice and dry beans from the USDA that most people getting the donations don't know how or have the means to prepare it.

People who need free food will learn to use it. There a lot of folks with $500+ phones in these lines and it is easy to figure out how to cook anything. Most are too lazy.

I stopped giving to the church food bank years ago after seeing what I saw.

The fellow I mentioned in the first post gave us two 2 lb bags of salad shrimp. We made shrimp etouffe with it. We had rice he had given us a few weeks earlier. Our cost was some seasoning, onions, celery, garlic, butter, and bell pepper that was under $5. Took an hour to make it. One bag of shrimp gave us three hearty meals for two. He was going to throw the shrimp out because it was too small! That kind of waste is nuts.

[deces]

People who need free food will learn to use it. There a lot of folks with $500+ phones in these lines and it is easy to figure out how to cook anything. Most are too lazy.

I stopped giving to the church food bank years ago after seeing what I saw.

The fellow I mentioned in the first post gave us two 2 lb bags of salad shrimp. We made shrimp etouffe with it. We had rice he had given us a few weeks earlier. Our cost was some seasoning, onions, celery, garlic, butter, and bell pepper that was under $5. Took an hour to make it. One bag of shrimp gave us three hearty meals for two. He was going to throw the shrimp out because it was too small! That kind of waste is nuts.

To be fair, shrinkflation really is a thing.

[Alex_4x4]

Long ago, I remember with my babysitter going to some warehouse downtown, as we entered the building there was some fold-up tables with a person handing out big blocks of cheese. I never thought the country would revert back those days. My only question now is, where is that free cheese?

Free cheese only comes in a mousetrap.

[jsizemore]

The only way food leaves the house is through me.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

We don’t waste food. What little scraps we have get fed to the chickens or pigs. The few times I have been given processed food (freezer burned, etc) for the animals, the time it takes to unwrap/empty and dispose of the trash makes it hardly worthwhile. The volume of garbage that goes along with our food is staggering.

[Thundarstick]

What I've seen around here is that the give away items are mostly bulk items a regular household would not buy to begin with! These give aways are almost always devoid of high quality protein items as well.

On a little different note, I find it appalling that it's against the law here for a food processor (bakery, restaurant) to give away outdated and food scraps to be used for animal fodder (pigs chickens).

[Kestrel4k]

People who need free food will learn to use it. There a lot of folks with $500+ phones in these lines and it is easy to figure out how to cook anything. Most are too lazy. [...]

That's exactly it in a nutshell.

[pipehand]

A neighbor gets food from the food bank, and they have to take what is given. When she gets more sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, winter squash, potatoes, etc than she can possible use, we get the excess of the excess. I have canned turnips, carrots, squash, and used a lot of the produce in soups and stews. I wouldn't want it to be wasted as wasting food was like the eighth deadly sin when I was growing up. It is amazing how there are so many on "assistance" that use their cards on the 1st of the month and only want premade/prepared food. You couldn't get a lot of them to take the basic ingredients that are donated to the food pantries. I'd do more to prevent the food waste, but my current lifestlye doesnt lend to getting a couple of weaners.

[Ed K]

Donated food is wasted because all on the dole are eating BigMacs.

[phantom22]

What I've seen around here is that the give away items are mostly bulk items a regular household would not buy to begin with! These give aways are almost always devoid of high quality protein items as well.

On a little different note, I find it appalling that it's against the law here for a food processor (bakery, restaurant) to give away outdated and food scraps to be used for animal fodder (pigs chickens).

I worked for a small deli when I was younger back in the early 2000's. The leftover bread was given to a local lady who called it 'pig bread' as she fed it to her stock. I have no idea if this was illegal or not, but I don't care if it was. It wasn't wasted.

[txbirdman]

Back around Christmas time my the deacons in my son’s church bought 200 cooked hams and passed them out in the immediate area of his small church. They had distributed 70 the year before and ran out so this year they upped the amount. They had covered the needs of all those they were aware of who needed help so they began passing the remainder out to people in low income housing. They weren’t knocking on every door but just randomly stopping here and there. One of his fellow deacons told him that he knocked and a little old lady met him and immediately burst into tears. She told him she did really remember how many days it had been since she’d had anything to eat and had been praying that God would send somebody to her with some food. Well the deacon ( about 6’5” and 250 lbs) said “he lost it”. He said both him and the lady were crying like babies. He had 3 hams and tried to give her all three but she refused. She said one would be enough for her, that there were other people in the area that needed help too. I told my son that his church needs to check on that woman periodically. He said, “It’s been handled Clint (the deacon) said as long as he’s able to do anything about it that little lady will never suffer like that again. Praise God!

[Kestrel4k]

Wow, that sort of gets you right there, doesn't it tx.

[txbirdman]

Yep. Can’t tell that story without choking up myself.

[jimlj]

People who need free food will learn to use it. There a lot of folks with $500+ phones in these lines and it is easy to figure out how to cook anything. Most are too lazy.

I stopped giving to the church food bank years ago after seeing what I saw.

The fellow I mentioned in the first post gave us two 2 lb bags of salad shrimp. We made shrimp etouffe with it. We had rice he had given us a few weeks earlier. Our cost was some seasoning, onions, celery, garlic, butter, and bell pepper that was under $5. Took an hour to make it. One bag of shrimp gave us three hearty meals for two. He was going to throw the shrimp out because it was too small! That kind of waste is nuts.

I agree with a lot of what you said, but I still think a lot of what is given out would be hard for a person or family to use. Last year we got a pallet of boxes of shelled walnuts. In each box was 12 two and a half pound bags of walnuts. We have limited space to store said walnuts so each week everyone who comes through the line gets a bag of walnuts till they are gone. Perhaps it is just me, but 2 1/2 pounds of walnuts will last me the rest of my life IF i live another 50 years. One piece of walnut will last my wife the rest of her life if she lives 1000 years. If I were getting a bag of walnuts every week for a couple months the vast majority would be wasted. I'm guessing about 25% of the people we help live in motels. They may have access to a small frig and microwave oven, but have no way to cook 5 pounds of chicken, a package of ground beef or a bag of dry beans so I suspect those items get wasted.

I won't argue about people with $500+ cell phones. I see it all the time as they drive up in newer cars than I have. It might be their own fault they are hungry, but they are still hungry and as long as I am able to help I will.

[Froogal]

We wanted to donate fresh zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatoes from our garden. We were told that the recipients probably did not know how to use any of that stuff.

[dverna]

We wanted to donate fresh zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatoes from our garden. We were told that the recipients probably did not know how to use any of that stuff.

We are not going to make it as a society.

I have come to the conclusion that many of these "do good" organizations are hurting instead of helping. I suppose it makes the volunteers feel good that they are "helping". Regrettably, it seems some folks either cannot or will not help themselves.

I used to buy stuff for the church food bank and stopped doing so. No regrets.

[Dave H]

My last job was working at a trash transfer station I was the company mechanic and I would fill in filling the outbound trailers I was amazed at what is discarded in America we got compactors from grocery stores and a Salvation army processing warehouse tons of food and a steady load from Sally's six days a week kind of sickening the stuff I loaded to go to a land fill.

[deces]

Repealing laws against people having chickens in their yards, would go a long way to end many problems that plague the cities. People's life expectancy might actually go up, instead of the current nose-dive trend.

[pipehand]

Today is Thursday. Thursday is food pantry day. Neighbor dropped off one of the TWO cases of Breakstone sour cream she got. That is something that doesnt take well to freezing or canning. Will make some onion dip and possibly use it in cheese cake. There will probably be waste. One neighbor has chickens- will see if the hens can convert it to eggs. Two cases of sour cream! That's an expensive name brand that I couldn't even find at Christmas-the store was out of all but the "lite" kind. I may have to start building a pig pen after all.

[pipehand]

Today is Thursday. Thursday is food pantry day. Neighbor dropped off one of the TWO cases of Breakstone sour cream she got. That is something that doesnt take well to freezing or canning. Will make some onion dip and possibly use it in cheese cake. There will probably be waste. One neighbor has chickens- will see if the hens can convert it to eggs. Two cases of sour cream! That's an expensive name brand that I couldn't even find at Christmas-the store was out of all but the "lite" kind. I may have to start building a pig pen after all.