Food Pantry Brands Overthink

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This is a great question. I donate to food pantries as often as I can,
Every time i shop.

I ask myself: how can I help the largest number of people?

Seen that way, a can of spaghettios is $1 and I’ve fed 1 person 1 meal. But with a box of pasta for 0.90 and a dollar jar of sauce I can feed 4 people dinner. So I tend to do the latter.
 
Irishmom2 said:
I happen to buy a lot of store brands for my own family and that is what I donate. I
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This.

I buy name brand toothpaste, diet soda (regular is generic), and, uhm . . . gosh, I thought there was a third . . .
 
Regarding expired items:
Check with your local food pantry. We have volunteered for our pantry annually for many years. (It’s a wonderful town event, kids earn volunteer hours, alums come home to help, folks put groceries on their doorsteps for the younger folk to collect & bring to the community sorting area - to be sorted, boxed & driven to the pantry by folks who own trucks & trailers.)

It’s an all around “feel good/do good event and every year it just gets more fruitful!

Anyway, when it first started, we used to discard all items that were stamped as expired. But for the past couple of years, we’ve been told to not discard any canned item past it’s expiry date.

Food donations have seen sharp declines along with equally sharp increases of families who need help.

Our pantry has said that recent studies have indicated that many items are perfectly fine after their dates. They have a second sorting in the actual pantry warehouse where they do a thorough sorting and feel that the amount of viable food obtained through that extra step has fed hundreds more than if we had just continued tossing by date alone.

Also, they are grateful for any new, unopened item - they appreciate generic & non-generic equally. If it matters morally to you, two boxes of generic feed more people than one box of branded.

Finally, when donating, remember gluten sensitive individuals as well as folks who might have diabetic or low sodium needs. (These items are specially sorted because they are in such high demand, tend to be more expensive and are less frequently donated.)

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Edited to highlight canned items.
Flour based packages are typically not as shelf stable as cans/jars.
 
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I can’t think of anything I put it on other than hamburgers . . . .
 
7_Sorrows said:
While working at a food pantry I came across more than once items that were not full or had been opened!! And items that were expired.
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A couple of years ago food shelf volunteers threw out a cake mix from 1997. So yeah, please don’t use it to clean out cupboards.
 
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If it’s a food drive aim toward what you would feed your family and that may be a mix of generic and name brand. Also, follow the guidelines of the food bank or pantry.

If you want to support your food bank consider just giving money. They have access to commodities that you and I don’t and can stretch the dollars you give them.

If you want to donate actual items then diapers, pads and tampons are often in short supply.

And pet food.
 
Unless the quality is just pluperfect awful (foods loaded with high fructose corn syrup or refined sugar), I would say to buy the cheapest thing you can, to be able to buy larger amounts for the same money. You might try to provide a larger diversity of foods — pasta, tomato sauce, and green beans would get wearisome after a while — and, of course, foods that are nutritious and wholesome. I can’t think that anyone who relies on a food pantry is really going to care whether they get store brand or name brand. I know I wouldn’t. Also, there are some food needs (backpacks for food-insecure school pupils, or homeless people) where prepared foods in small servings are more practical than bulk items that require extensive preparation. Students from food-insecure homes are happy to get things like peanut butter, crackers, Vienna sausages, granola bars, and other things that can be eaten straight out of the container, if need be. And do check the dates.
 
Look at the nutritional information on the label. Buy the cheapest decent nutritional value.

They’re often made in the same factory, anyway.
 
I’m guessing this must be in the States because I’m pretty sure 50% or more of the EU food market is own brand. I’d say, as others have done, if you’d eat it then it’s fine to donate.
 
Some needy people are “picky” about brands. I usually buy the name brands. Also, I buy the super sized cans and bags since some families can consume the large quantities without a problem.
 
DisorientingSneeze said:
On the one hand, I think it is important that the people we serve in these donations not be sifting through only everyones unwanted cans from the back of their own pantry. The idea of giving your best to people in need to show them they matter certainly comes into play.
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AMEN preach it!

We throw away so much expired food which has been donated to food baskets. It is so bad that now we simply ask for cash and buy from the food bank ourselves.

My suggestion, get house brand but get protein. Canned chicken, canned beef.

Last parish I was at sent out an SOS for a freezer so we could have meat available, people were thrilled to get meat and frozen veggies (better than canned!!)

ETA. Also remember, feminine hygiene products and new socks for adults.
 
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Sursumcorda1 said:
Some needy people are “picky” about brands. I usually buy the name brands. Also, I buy the super sized cans and bags since some families can consume the large quantities without a problem.
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Well, that is just too bad. That is something they need to get past. Hungry people in Africa and elsewhere in the world do not worry about things such as brands. That’s an affluent capitalist concept.

If I did not have my modest retirement income, I would have to go to food pantries myself. Brands would not be an issue.
 
HomeschoolDad said:
Brands would not be an issue.
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I agree that a starving person won’t be picky but sometimes they are mentally challenged. And some people can taste the difference. They want to eat food they like just as much as I do. I’m not saying you’re wrong, just that there are exceptions. I’d have to be down to my last packet of ketchup to eat cream of chicken soup other than Campbell’s. I use a large amount of store brands but there are a few items I draw the line with.

I have a great advantage when I purchase Kroger brands as my daughter works for then and I can get her discount! I tend to purchase based on what would make a good meal, so I include seasonings and other common ingredients that go into other dishes. I also call ahead to see what the shortage of the day is and buy several of those to help. I agree with the earlier poster about buying easily carried foods…granola bars, cheese crackers, lunchables and anything that a student would like. These seem to go quick!
 
Also something to consider on your point:
Many clients of our food pantry are families with children - and as anyone with children will attest to, some children can be very picky eaters … a branded box of cereal or mac & cheese can make a big difference in that child’s day. (My own son went through a phase where he refused to eat anything but Annie’s Mac & Cheese for lunch. Of course he grew out of it, but that period of time was very trying.)

When I buy groceries for our annual food drive, I do try to do a mix of less expensive/bulk items along with things that I know tend to appeal to “choosy” eaters.

I appreciated your post above, (about the single serve foods), because those too are important for families with school aged children.
 
HomeschoolDad said:
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HomeschoolDad:
Brands would not be an issue.
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I agree that a starving person won’t be picky but sometimes they are mentally challenged. And some people can taste the difference. They want to eat food they like just as much as I do. I’m not saying you’re wrong, just that there are exceptions. I’d have to be down to my last packet of ketchup to eat cream of chicken soup other than Campbell’s. I use a large amount of store brands but there are a few items I draw the line with.
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I feel your pain. I tried Lidl store brand bean and bacon soup, and there need to be court injunctions against that kind of vileness 🤮 — however, we as Americans are very spoiled about food, and even in Poland under the people’s republic (satellite of Moscow), people would complain about the admittedly simple, plain fare that made up the daily diet. Once an African student heard them complaining, and he told them they were complaining over nothing, they would love to have food in that kind of abundance in Africa, even though it wasn’t haute cuisine. I am a man of simple tastes and I have eaten in Polish cafes and milk bars, never had a bad meal.
KBS said:
Many clients of our food pantry are families with children - and as anyone with children will attest to, some children can be very picky eaters … a branded box of cereal or mac & cheese can make a big difference in that child’s day. (My own son went through a phase where he refused to eat anything but Annie’s Mac & Cheese for lunch. Of course he grew out of it, but that period of time was very trying.)
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I feel this pain as well. My son is a consummately picky eater. I let him get by with this, and by now, it’s too late to reform this habit.
 
Our pantry specifically asks for large diapers and pull ups
 
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