What Types Of Canned Food Can Be Donated
You can donate all kinds of canned food. Some of the canned foods accepted by food banks are:
1. Peanut butter
8. Canned Vegetable
9. Canned Stew
This is not an exhaustive list however, it contains the items most preferred by food banks and food donation stations.
Olive oils, marinades, and dressings are also accepted if they do not need refrigeration. Also, food with damaged packaging is not preferred by food donation stations. Items with opened packages are segregated by volunteers and are not distributed. Opened canned food cannot remain edible even for a few days without refrigeration. Even when kept in a refrigerator, canned food can only remain edible for two to three days.
Many food donation stations do not prefer food canned in a personal kitchen as the ingredients cannot be vouched for. Canned food with not-so-perfect packaging is also not distributed. This involves rusted cans, bulging on cans, any dents on cans, and leaking cans.
Can ‘expired’ Foods Be Donated
Expired foods can be donated.We had to say it because not everyone knows it. Food items that are past their best before dates are accepted and appreciated at food donation stations and food banks across the country. Please help spread the word.
Estimates vary, but each and every year a large percentage of food produced for people to eat in the U.S. goes to waste. When we began in 2011 the estimates of food waste were around 40%, wed like to think that people are putting a dent in that number so want to believe some of the more current estimates that have come in as low as 25-30%. Even if they are now lower, its still too high.
You may be thinking: Is it OK to donate expired food? Do food banks accept expired foods? The answer to both questions is an overwhelming YES!!. That answer is even backed by the USDA.
Who Will Take Food Donations
- Food pantries: Use Aunt Bertha to find a food pantry near you that accepts donations. Call ahead to make sure that the pantry can accept your donation and to coordinate how and when it should be delivered or picked up.
- Food banks: Contact Central Texas Food Bank to schedule a donation.
- Food rescue programs like Keep Austin Fed may be able to help with donation logistics.
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How To Calculate The Value Of Your Tax
Now comes the tricky part. How much can you deduct from your taxes? There are a couple of rules to keep in mind:
What Can You Not Donate To A Food Bank Uk
Non-food itemsToiletries deodorant, toilet paper, shower gel, shaving gel, shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, tooth paste, hand wipes.Household items laundry liquid detergent, laundry powder, washing up liquid.Feminine products sanitary towels and tampons.Baby supplies nappies, baby wipes and baby food.More items…
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Which Foods Can Be Donated
- Pre-packaged foods that are non-perishable and fresh, whole fruits and vegetables that have not been cut may be collected for donation and distribution without a permit.
- Certain foods that require time/temperature control for safety may be donated if both the donor and recipient are food permitted facilities and the food has been properly handled at an appropriate temperature. See Food Donation Guidelines for more details and information on which foods are not suitable for donation.
Anyone Can Be A Food Donor
Anyone can donate food, including farmers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, restaurants, cafeterias, hotels, cruise ships, and households, just to name a few.
- EPAs Excess Food Opportunities Map is an interactive tool that displays the locations of nearly 1.2 million potential industrial, commercial and institutional excess food generators and more than 4,000 potential recipients.
- Gleaning is the collection of excess fresh foods from farms, gardens, farmers markets, and other sources to provide it to those in need. Typically, volunteers partner with a farm to glean excess fresh produce and deliver it to a food bank or food pantry. Learn how to develop a successful gleaning program with this USDA toolkit .
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Let Us Get It Into Hungry Hands Who Need It
Our warehouse receiving hours are 9 AM 3 PM Monday through Saturday. If you are going to drop off a donation, please be mindful of a few guidelines:
For individual/personal donations: We accept canned food items no more than 4 years expired. Shelf stable dairy items must be no more than 1 year expired. We cannot accept anything already open . All items must be in clean, unopened condition.
If you are a business looking to donate food, or have unserved leftovers from an event, please see below for more guidelines. We schedule pickups for over 100 LBS of food to coordinate a pickup please email or call 226-8061, leave a voicemail and we will get back to you. Sunday donations are by appointment only. Thank you for your support!
Good Samaritan Act Provides Liability Protection For Food Donations
Food donations to help those in need have been an important part of Americas safety net during the challenges posed by COVID-19. Did you know that the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act of 1996 provides limited liability protection for people who make good faith donations of food and grocery products to nonprofits that feed the hungry? The act also provides limited liability protection, both civil and criminal, for those who distribute food and groceries, such as food banks.
If you have not heard about this act, you are not alone. This lack of awareness of the Good Samaritan Act prompted Congress in the 2018 Farm Bill to call for USDA to raise awareness of the liability protection afforded by the act. As USDAs Food Loss and Waste Liaison, I am leading outreach efforts to let businesses involved with food donations from farm-to-fork know about this limited liability protection.
In order to receive protection under the act, a person or gleaner must donate in good faithapparently wholesome food or apparently fit grocery products to a nonprofit organization for ultimate distribution to needy individuals. It does not cover direct donations to needy individuals or families. The act also provides protection against civil and criminal liability to the nonprofit organizations that receive such donated items in good faith.
So, what does this really mean? Lets take one bite at a time.
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Food Donations In Your Community
- Food donors include food processors and manufacturers, grocers, wholesalers, farmers, and organized community food drives.
- Perishable and prepared foods are typically collected from restaurants, caterers, corporate dining rooms, and hotels for prompt distribution to hungry people in their communities.
- Donated food includes edible food from events, products affected by labeling regulations or manufacturing glitches, expired coupons, or code-dated products.
- Donating surplus food inventory to food rescue or food banks reduces warehouse storage and disposal costs.
Can You Donate Expiring Canned Foods
In addition to adhering to best practices such as abstaining from donating perishable items, leftovers, or homemade items, you should also avoid donating anything thats expired. Food banks will most likely check an expiration date before giving it to a family in need, but its better to be safe than sorry. As a general rule, if you wouldnt eat it, dont donate it.
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Foods To Avoid Donating
Do not send any baby formula or adult nutrition that is past its best before date. They will not take these because they are not allowed to redistribute these.
There are some items that food banks would rather not deal with, expired or not. Items to avoid sending food banks include anything packed in glass, candy, and sugary drinks. This list could vary by food bank or food donation station, but many places do avoid these items so keep that in mind.
Since food banks are usually run by county, its a good idea to check their website for questionable items before proceeding.
Do Not Donate Expired Canned Food
Donating canned food is not the best way to help others, even if the canned food is not expired they still have to be categorized, stored, and so on before it reaches the people who need it the most. On the other hand, there are some people who will simply donate expired canned foods, and at that point, they would better be off just throwing it away. Most charities that accept food donation will check the expiration date of the canned foods, and if they are expired they will simply throw it away.
Rather than the charity workers feeding the needy, they will have to check every canned food and throw out the expired ones, so it is not a good idea to send them expired canned food as you will actually hinder their process of helping others. In addition to not donating expired canned foods, you should also not donate canned foods that are close to expiry, as these canned foods will stay some time in storage before they end up in the hands of the people who need them.
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Why Donate Food
- Help end hunger: One in six people in Central Texas struggle to have enough food to eat and almost 25% of children in Travis County lack consistent access to food.
- Conserve valuable resources: Wasted food represents 4% of U.S. oil consumption and requires 25% of our fresh water supply to grow.
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions: Uneaten food in landfills accounts for 23% of the nations output of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
- Save money: Businesses can receive tax incentives for food donations while simultaneously lowering their disposal costs. And for businesses in Austin, food donation counts towards compliance with the Universal Recycling Ordinance.
What Is A Pop
Pop-Up pantries distribute healthy meals directly to clients regularly to improve community food security and general health.
Several disadvantaged areas with inadequate access to healthy meals have been recognized by the Food Bank, including food deserts where supermarkets may not be readily accessible.
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Los Angeles Regional Food Bank
According to this food banks website, 20% of Los Angelenos face food insecurity, and this organization is on a mission to reduce that number to 0. The food bank has temporarily paused on canned food donations from individuals, but theyve provided a list of local Los Angeles-area partners that are currently accepting donations.
To find the best food bank to donate food near you, head on over to this directory. Enter your location and select a radius of up to 15 miles.
Keep Expired Canned Foods As A Decoy
Most preppers will have a fairly large stash of food in their home, but if a lot of people know that they have a lot of food they will start knocking on their door once the SHTF happens. In the worst-case scenario where looters will break into a house for food then you could use the expired canned foods as a decoy. Most looters will simply not check the expiration date, so you can take advantage of this.
This way the looters will have some easy pickings and most of your food stockpiles will be safe. Just place the expired canned foods in the kitchen as looters who are looking for food will start in the kitchen, and they probably dont know that storing canned foods in the kitchen is a bad idea. Just make sure to check the expired canned foods from time to time, the ones that have started to leak or are bloated should be thrown away. If you have a small business and you want to protect it from looters then check out my recent article How to protect your business from looters .
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Donate Food & Essentials
The Food Bank for Larimer County accepts donated food, including shelf-stable items such as canned and dry goods as well as dairy, meat, bakery items and fresh produce. We adhere to strict food safety guidelines for the food that we accept. Our staff is trained to pay close attention to date codes, especially with refrigerated products. Most of the dates on the food we distribute are not expiration dates they are best if used by or sell by dates. This means the product is wholesome beyond the date on the product.
In addition to food items, we also gladly accept non-food items like diapers, baby wipes, deodorant, toothpaste, menstrual products and other essentials that help our clients live healthy and rewarding lives.
How Does The Law Protect Businesses From Liability
The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act makes it easier for businesses to donate to food rescue and food bank programs. It protects donors from liability when donating to nonprofit organizations and protects donors from civil and criminal liability should the product donated in good faith cause harm to the needy recipient.
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Potential Funding For Food Banks
Recycling Market Development Zone Loan Program. Food banks may qualify as a recycling manufacturer under the waste prevention category for CalRecycles Recycling Market Development Zone loan program. The loan can provide funding for working capital, daily operating expenses, equipment, such as trucks and refrigeration units, leasehold improvements, such as expanding an existing building, and real estate.
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Loan Program. Food banks may also be a part of an organics composting/anaerobic digestion project and the organics infrastructure project may qualify for CalRecycles Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund loan program, which can provide funding for equipment, real estate, and leasehold improvements.
There are additional funding programs that food banks may be able to utilize:
Dented Or Damaged Items
Dented, rusted, or damaged packaging means that the food inside might be spoiled, notes Delish. Make sure to examine packaging for signs of damage before you drop your food donation items off.
“Food safety is a top priority at the Feeding America network of 200 food banks. Dented or damaged cans could be spoiled or contain harmful bacteria. Any cans that are badly dented, leaking, bulging, or rusted should be thrown out,” suggests Villarreal.
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What Can You Not Donate To A Food Bank
What can you donate to a food bank? The main thing to bear in mind is that whatever you give may be stored for some time before it goes to those who need it. Avoid things like fresh fruit and veg, fish, meat and dairy products as it might go bad and the food bank is unlikely to accept it.Oct 8, 2020
Outdated Foods Can Be Donated
The whole picture of wasted food begins with all the resources that went into producing that food through the stores and then the consumers and ending with the methane gas produced from that same food rotting in landfills. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more damaging to the environment than CO2. We remain committed to helping this food cycle in any way possible. Getting foods that someone isnt using into the hands of those who need it is another way that folks can help. Donating outdated foods to food banks, whether on a small or a large scale, helps to chip away at the huge food waste problem.
We all know that donating to a food bank is a good thing. There are bins at the grocery store, especially around the holidays, where you can purchase food and then leave it in the bin to be donated to the food bank once the bin is full. This is great, but food banks need donations all year long and our goal still, after all these years, is to put a dent in the huge food waste problems.
As much as we preach about being able to eat and enjoy expired foods, we know there are people out there that still just cant or wont eat these foods. Heres a solution for them. Donate expired foods from your cupboards into the food bank cupboards instead of tossing them into the landfill.
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Is It Better To Donate Food Or Money To Food Bank
First, monetary donations are far more effective than material ones. Your instinct during a crisis, like a wildfire or a pandemic, might be to donate goods, like blankets, canned food or toothbrushes. … Another reason cash is better is because donated goods require a lot of staff and volunteers to manage.