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.....
2 comments:
As someone who occasionally donates food I know my family won't eat, bought it to try and learned the answer was "no", some of which may actually be expired, I consider it a choice between throwing out perfectly good food or giving it to someone who may well enjoy it. To be fair, I also shop the clearance rack at my grocery and seldom pass on expired items I know we'll eat in a short time. Since food that goes to a food shelf seldom hangs around for long, an item that's within a year of the expiration date is usually still perfectly good to eat, so the fact it's expired is immaterial. Your point about worn out clothes is perfectly valid and why we don't donate those. They get used for around-the-house things until they're trash...
My husband helps run a ministry that involves giving away food from the local food bank and used items to people who need or want them. We also benefit from this ministry. When he learned about food safety and other relevant issues, he learned that canned food is actually perfectly fine up to two years past the expiration date. Donated clothes which have holes or stains are thrown away for the reasons you mention.
Personally, I'm grateful for canned food that's a bit past its date. It's gotten us through some lean times in the past couple years.
I understand there is a certain amount of shame in financial hardship, but I would never want to curb people's generosity, however imperfectly motivated it might be. Just because I can't use something I have doesn't mean I think it's not good enough for me. You know the saying: one man's trash is another man's treasure. If I don't want something then I want to see it go to someone who does.
My children have very much enjoyed some of the passed on toys and clothes they have received. I am glad their former owners made the choice to donate them rather than trash them.
As an aside, these days many of the programs that involve giving toys to children around Christmas time require that the toys be new. I can see good reasons for this, and I'm also glad that there are thrift stores available for me to find good used ones as well. It's great to have options :)
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