Can I Donate A Thanksgiving Turkey To A Food Bank
A common question we hear around Thanksgiving is, Where can I donate a turkey for Thanksgiving? We are always thrilled to hear folks are interested in supporting their local food banks efforts to brighten the holidays for neighbors facing hunger, but the reality is, donating a turkey is not the best way to do that. Unless your local food bank has asked explicitly for frozen turkey donations, consider another way to give back during Thanksgiving.
Why not all food banks accept turkey donations
Food safety
Feeding America takes food safety incredibly seriously. All the food distributed across the network of food banks, whether perishable or shelf-stable, has been appropriately checked and is safe to eat. Those same standards must be met by any food you donate, too.
When you donate a frozen turkey, theres no way to guarantee someone kept it at a safe temperature or that manufacturers followed proper food safety protocols. And because of that uncertainty, food banks may not want to risk distributing them.
Not enough storage
Turkeys are big. The average Thanksgiving turkey comes in at a total of 15 pounds! That means theyre not easy to store, especially because they require freezer space.
Just think about keeping a turkey in your own refrigerator. With all the other food you might buy for Thanksgiving stuffing, potatoes, collard greens, cranberry sauce it can get crowded in there fast.
Purchasing is more efficient
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Make A Financial Donation
Your financial donation is the most powerful way to help families in need. Through our partnerships with local grocery stores and other food providers, we are able to turn every $1 cash donation into more than $9 worth of food including fresh meat and produce!
Bienvenidos Food Bank is a program of the Northwest Family Assistance Center, a 501 3 nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible .
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:
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Best Non Perishable Foods
When youre stocking your own pantry or helping others in need, non perishable foods should be on your shopping list. These foods are great for emergencies when the power goes out, for camping, or simply for planning ahead.
Well help you choose the best non perishable foods that last for months . Plus, we have storage and organization tips, and a printable list of non perishable foods with estimated shelf life.
Contents
Central Texas Food Bank
The Central Texas Food Bank supplies food in 21 counties in Texas, distributing over 3.1 million pounds of food to around 16,000 people each month. It doesnt focus only on supplying food to those in need, but also on culinary training and garden education programs for anyone interested. Its goal is to provide its community members with life skills that will enable them to find success. The Central Texas Food Bank doesnt only work on a state level, but a federal one as well it has a government advocacy program to encourage political leaders to work to end hunger.
How to donate food to Central Texas Food Bank:
Food donations can be made at the headquarters in Austin Texas. Canned goods of any kind can be donated to its kitchen from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Central Texas Food Banks address is:
6500 Metropolis Drive
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How Your Money Is Used
Giving to AzFBN is effective!
Because we work with economies of scale your financial gifts to AzFBN go a long way. Because we deal with semi tractor-trailer loads of food, a little goes a long way! Of course your donations support hunger fighting programs, too, as we work toward a vision of a hunger free Arizona.
Can Perishable Items Be Donated
Donations of perishable prepared foods — typically collected from restaurants, caterers, corporate dining rooms, college campuses, hotels, and other food establishments — also help feed families in need, although such donations usually require special handling such as refrigerated trucks and prompt distribution.
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Surplus Salvaged And Donated Foods
FareShare accepts food from businesses and uses any stock that is food safe, including those requiring chillers, freezers, and ambient storage. They have hubs all over the country and the FareShare Go Scheme connects supermarkets with local charity or community groups. We regularly accept food donations from grocery stores, wholesalers, restaurants, and others in the food industry. If this sounds like an organization that you own or represent, wed welcome your help. By supplying free fresh produce, canned goods, and healthy frozen items, our food pantries provide valuable meal supplementation while helping those in need maintain their independence and dignity. These food pantries are especially crucial in food deserts, where entire communities experience food insecurity due to lack of grocery store access.
It might seem like a caring gesture to gift homemade foods for your local food drive, but food banks cant accept any foods that arent commercially packaged. Baby formulas, and baby foods in breakable glass jars, arent recommended for donation to food banks, Delish reports. Most food banks buy specific formulas for their local communities with donated funds. We accept donations of produce, meat, dairy, dry goods and other frozen and refrigerated items at our warehouse locations.
Any want some frozen food or know a place I can donate it to?:
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How To Donate To A Food Bank
With the pandemic and the cost of living crisis, food banks are being relied upon more than ever before. If you’re wondering how to help, here’s everything you need to know about food bank donations.
Food banks work with support from the public, who donate non-perishable food at a range of places such as schools, churches, and local businesses, as well as supermarket collection points. Then volunteers sort the produce into emergency food parcels to give to people in need. A large majority of food banks also provide extra services alongside the emergency food parcels, such as toiletries, sanitary products, and baby basics.
According to recent stats published by The Trussel Trust , 95% of people referred to food banks in early 2020 were unable to afford to eat or stay warm and dry. As well as 18% of households referred to food banks were single parents – more than twice the rate in the general population. Trussel Trust added “We know that extremely low income is a key factor driving people to food banks.” Therefore donating to a food bank is needed now more than ever.
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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.
Surplus Production And Dedicated Donations
Donating to the Food Banks of Quebec network is a reliable and secure way to dispose of surplus or to make a planned donation through dedicated production. In return, Food Banks of Quebec will:
- Respond promptly to offers of food donations
- Transport, handle, and store the merchandise in accordance with the rules of traceability, hygiene, and sanitation governing the food industry
- Distribute, free of charge, the products received to member organizations
- Administer food-sharing with efficiency, transparency and equity
- Issue, upon request, tax receipts
Food donations can include perishable, non-perishable, frozen items, and other products resulting from:
- Inventory surpluses
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Rescuing Food For Hungry Californians
Feeding hungry people with donations of extra food is an integral part of resource conservation. Organizations served by food rescue and food bank programs include community centers, soup kitchens, food pantries, homeless shelters, senior programs, and childcare centers.
- Food rescue means recovering healthy foods and making fast deliveries to those in need. This is the highest and best use for perishable food. The Fresno Metro Ministry Food Recovery project, which takes excess perishable food to hungry people, is an example.
- Food Finders is a community-based food rescue organization in Southern California, which serves as a conduit, between donors and people in need.
- Food rescue in Southern California also includes Waste Not OC Coalition which works to help meet the nutritional needs of the community by facilitating the donation and distribution of surplus food.
- Food banks are organizations that collect food from a variety of sources, and distribute it to hungry people through local service agencies. The California Association of Food Banks which has a membership of 43 food banks, is one of the leading organizations in California. Major programs include Farm to Family which works with growers and packers to provide fresh produce to banks.
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 of excess food including anaerobic digestion facilities, composting facilities, and food banks.
- 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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State The Reasons Why You Need Food Donation And What You Are Looking Forward To Accomplishing
Explain to your donors why it is essential for them to support your project. And how their donation will make a difference in your entire project. This will give them a reason to participate in your donation. Offering your organizations history is a perfect way to connect with your potential donors deeply.
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Feeding America Food Banks
Feeding America is one of the most prolific organizations in the United States, running food banks and other places to donate food in almost every state. This includes 200 Feeding America Food Banks where volunteers collect millions of pounds of food to distribute to all of their surrounding counties. The organization secured and distributed 4 billion meals last year by sending food to food pantries and supplying meal programs. its goal is to end the fight against hunger in America and beyond.
How to donate food to Feeding America Food Banks:
Visit its online tool to figure out if there is a Feeding America Food Bank near you. Each of its foodbanks has a separate website and information regarding drop-off times and requirements for where to donate food.
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Put Together Your Own Thanksgiving Baskets
You can include any combination of the things listed, or make a basket with an entire holiday meal. There are amazing organizations, churches, and charities, that put together a box of food that are complete Thanksgiving meals. And of course including the turkey, because it wouldnt be a complete meal without the Thanksgiving turkey!
One of the best traditions you can start this year is putting together a care package for someone you love in need or a stranger in your community in need.
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Deliver Your Food Donations
Non-perishable food donations can be dropped off at any of the locations listed below. We encourage you to please call the site ahead of time before visiting.
Northwest Truth Christian Ministries International Address: 5101 N. Rainbow Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89130Northeast Three Square Food BankFood can be dropped off Monday Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Address: 4190 N. Pecos Rd., Las Vegas, NV 89115 Central Jewish Family Services Agency Phone: Address: 2309 Renaissance Dr., Ste. B., Las Vegas, NV 89119 Southwest International Church of Las Vegas Address: 6620 W. Katie Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89103 Henderson St. Therese Center HIV Outreach Address: 215 Palo Verde Dr., Henderson, NV 89015
Three Squares offices and warehouses are closed on the following holidays:
- Presidents Day
- Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
- New Years Eve and New Years Day
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Your Nearest Food Donation Point
This winter, you can help people facing hunger by donating food at a Tesco store near you.
From Monday 15 November in Tesco Express stores.
From Thursday 18 November in Tesco Superstore and Extra stores.
Tesco staff and volunteers will be greeting customers and collecting donations of non-perishable food and toiletries.
All donations are gratefully received by food banks across the Trussell Trust network, however, we know that some items are more needed than others.
You can also check which items are needed specifically in your community, by looking at your food banks website on your way into store. Dont forget to donate an item or two to your local food bank on your way out.
How To Volunteer For A Food Bank
With over 30% of food bank project managers over 65 years old and therefore classed as at-risk, food banks are struggling with a lack of personnel to help deliver parcels due to Covid restrictions. Speaking to the Guardian, Emma Revie said, We are definitely in need of additional volunteers. One of our biggest threats is people becoming unwell and unable to volunteer.
Your local council website is likely to have a page on volunteering in your area, specifying any food banks local to you and if there are roles and jobs available. You can also search using The Trussell Trust website .
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Non Surplus Food Donations
Although the large majority of the food we redistribute comes from food industry surplus, we are always grateful to take donations of non-perishable, in-date products from individuals or groups.
Food can be dropped off at our warehouse in Moulsecoomb Units 3-4 Fairway Business Centre, Westergate Road, Brighton, BN2 4JZ.
We also have several food collection points in the area where you can drop food items.
- Exeter Street Hall, Exeter Street, Brighton
- Sainsburys New England Street, Brighton
- Sainsburys Lewes Road, Brighton
- Sainsburys Queens Road, Brighton
- Tesco Church Road, Hove
- Tesco Hammonds Farm, Burgess Hill
- Tesco Hazelwick Avenue, Crawley
- Tesco Gatwick Extra Reigate Road, Horley
- Co-operative Blatchington Road, Hove
- Co-operative Meridian Way, Peacehaven
The Neighbourhood Food Collection
Every year, FareShare takes part in a large-scale food collection in Tesco stores across the country. Over three days, Tesco customers are invited to purchase an extra non-perishable food item with their shopping to donate. At the end of the event the food is totalled up, topped up by a 20% financial donation from Tesco and distributed to each of the FareShare Regional Centres and Trussell Trust food banks.
Get in touch if you would like to be added to the event mailing list to be the first to know about volunteering positions across the Sussex stores. If you are a national company and are interested in getting involved visit our FareShare UK website.
Fareshare Sussex
Looking For A Convenient Place In Your Neighborhood To Drop Off Your Food Donation To The Food Bank All San Antonio Area Goodwill Stores And Donation Centers Have A San Antonio Food Bank Red Barrel For Your Non
For questions regarding individual and group food donations, please contact:
FOOD & FUND DRIVE COORDINATOR
Contact Us
5200 Enrique M. Barrera PkwySan Antonio, TX 78227210.337.FOOD 210.337.3663 info@safoodbank.orgMonday-Friday | 8 AM – 5 PM
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The San Antonio Food Bank is a 501 non-profit organization providing millions of pounds of food to more than 500 charitable organizations in Southwest Texas serving those in need. In addition to food distribution, the San Antonio Food Bank provides numerous programs that not only solve the immediate problems of hunger, but help individuals and families gain long-term food security.
Privacy Statement
The San Antonio Food Bank values the privacy of our donors and does not copy, reproduce, publish, post, distribute, share or sell, the name, personal contact information or description of donors to any outside individual or business. Exceptions are those required by law, requested in grant applications or in connection with bank credit or debit card transactions made with prior knowledge or consent of the donor.
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