I volunteer at a food bank, and the company that sends us our food decides what we get. Last Tuesday they sent so much produce we could not fit it all into fridges. We were trying to give away cases of the food on Wednesday, but people were turning it down because they had no place to store a case of tomatoes, or cauliflower. This was what we had left after last Wednesday’s morning give away. Not pictured the 5000lbs of watermelons, the 2500lbs of onions (those will last a lot longer).

The company that supplies us wants to move from sending shipments every other week, to once a month. This would cause even more no produce loss.

It is so frustrating to have all this food for it to go bad. Even if we got the same volume of produce, but there was variation in what it is we could give it away easier.

  • @[email protected]English
    25•1 month ago

    I’m one of the returns clerks in a Costco. First thing we do every morning is process stuff to send the food bank. It irks me how much stuff we aren’t allowed to send because the manufacturer won’t allow it. Even despite that we send a lot every day. Everything that does spoil at the food bank goes to a local pig farm, who donates pig products back to the food bank whenever he can.

    • @[email protected]English
      0•1 month ago

      It irks me how much stuff we aren’t allowed to send because the manufacturer won’t allow it.

      Name and shame. This is such bullshit. I’m sure it’s some to protect brand value, but IMO you earn more value through kindness and generosity.

      • @[email protected]English
        1•1 month ago

        Well, all the Nestle stuff gets sent back to them. Pretty much all the big name cereal outfits have orders that damaged products are to be sent to a salvage company.

        Happily most cheese and sliced meats can be donated, plus we generally send 8-10 shopping carts of baked goods and produce directly from us to them every day

    • nocturneOPEnglish
      11•1 month ago

      We are trying to find one place that will consistently take our spoilage.

      We get a lot of expired stuff from Walmart and the grocery store in town. But Walmart takes forever to get it to us. Usually when we get it, it is a week expired. Where the grocery store we get it a day or two before it actually expires.