I recently accompanied one of my friends to the local food bank here in the city. I'd never been there before, so it was kind of exciting to see all this food sitting around for people to pick from, and especially nice when it was all free.
And then I noticed something.
As I looked at all the boxes and bags, I was surprised to find that nearly all the food was expired according to the dates on the packaging. I went about shopping with my friend, and tried to put it out of my head, but I could not remove "expired" from my thoughts.
And it continues to haunt me. I have flashed back to memories from my childhood, of the welfare bags that used to provide us with clothing. My brother and I were well stocked in brown corduroy pants, and matching ugly brown shoes - you know - the ones no one wanted. I hid my face in shame when we would go to the grocery store, because I just knew that someone from my school would see us paying for our food with food stamps, and that was the worst thing ever. They would know our secret. We were poor. We needed help. We were less than human, and didn't deserve anything more than thrown out clothes and generic brand food.
It's a strange mentality we humans have about the poor people in our country. How many times have we gone through our cabinets, and picked out all the food we don't want, or that has expired, and donated it to the food bank or to someone who "needed" it? How many times have we donated our old clothes that are ratty and have holes in them, because, well, WE certainly won't wear them any more?
Beggars can't be choosers, right? If you're poor or needing help, you take what people give you with a grateful heart, and that's that.
Ummmm......
There is something to be said about being grateful, yes. BUT, there is something to be said about just being human as well. When you go to the store, do you buy expired food for you family, or do you check the date and make sure it's good enough for you and your people? I know I don't buy expired food, even with the realization that a lot of food lasts longer than its expiration date. So, why are we donating it for someone else to eat, just because they are struggling financially? It doesn't make any sense.
A person isn't less of a person when they find their life to be in financial crisis. It just means life is hard a lot of the time, and they need a boost.... a hand up.... compassion and understanding. They don't suddenly like expired food and torn up hand-me-downs just because things are difficult. They're just normal people like you and me, struggling to make life work.
I don't know. I guess this could expand to world wide, and there are a lot of people in the world with far worse problems than expired food. But, here in this town, I think we can do better. Just give it some thought, okay? Next time you're donating something, think about whether or not you would eat it or wear it, and if it's not "good enough" for you, maybe think twice about giving it to someone else. And, if you give food to a food bank, or to someone else, maybe think about buying the name brand - the "good stuff" instead of throwing them your expired, unwanted leftovers.
As always..... the discussion is open.....
