How To Donate Nonperishable Food Step By Step:
- Step 1: Research what food bank institutions are near you to find where to donate food.
- Step 2: Find out which food items can be donated to that specific food bank.
- Step 3: Gather up all of the items that you wish to donate, being sure to stick to the guidelines on the products and provided by your selected food bank.
- Step 4: Once you have gathered the food, check to make sure no expiration dates have passed.
- Step 5: Check out the packaging on each of the items. Do not send in any rusty or heavily dented cans, boxes that have been crushed, or anything that leaks.
- Step 6: Take the food to the designated address during the appropriate time.
How Can I Help Three Square The Most
Monetary donations provide the greatest benefit we have buying power that allows us to do more with $1 than you might when you go to the store to purchase canned goods for a food drive. For every $1 donated, Three Square is able to distribute three meals.
Even if you have committed to holding a food drive, please consider the option of adding a fund drive or virtual food drive. Many individuals would rather write a tax-deductible check or make a donation online rather than picking up extra food at the grocery store for the food drive.
Limited Liability Protection For Donors
The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act of 1996 encourages the donation of food and grocery products to nonprofit organizations for distribution to needy individuals. The Act exempts persons and gleaners who make good faith donations of food to nonprofit organizations that feed the hungry from liability for injuries arising from the consumption of the donated food.
Under the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, the following food donation standards apply:
Persons and gleaners : Persons and gleaners, including qualified direct donors, shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability arising from the nature, age, packaging, or condition of apparently wholesome food that the person or gleaner donates in good faith to a nonprofit organization for ultimate distribution to needy individuals.
Nonprofit organizations: Nonprofit organizations shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability arising from the nature, age, packaging, or condition of apparently wholesome food that the nonprofit organization received as a donation in good faith from a person or gleaner, including a qualified direct donor, for ultimate distribution to needy individuals.
Donations of apparently wholesome food by qualified direct donors must be made in compliance with applicable state and local health, food safety, and food handling laws .
Also Check: Central And Eastern North Carolina Food Bank
North Country Food Bank
Despite being headquartered in Minnesota, the North Country Food Bank doesnt serve just one state. It benefits a whole region, including Minnesota and part of North Dakota. This region includes 21 counties. This foodbank partners with more than 230 agencies and other food relief programs to distribute more than 7.4 million pounds of food a year. It doesnt only accept food donations from individuals but also utilizes surplus food coming from farms, grocery stores, and manufacturers.
How to donate food to the North Country Food Bank:
You can donate food to the North Country Food Bank by visiting its home base in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. Contact them at 399-7356 for more information. Address:
1011 11th Ave NE
East Grand Forks, MN 56721
Tools And Outdoor Items
Many people love spending time outdoors or completing home improvement projects but may not want to spend extra money to do so. Goodwill is a great candidate for these old items.
- Hammers, drills, and accessories: This is great for handymen and women on a budget as well as other nonprofits looking to renovate.
- Woodworking, sewing, painting, or other hobby-related items: If items like these are taking up space in your home or cabinets, turn them over to Goodwill.
- Lawn tools or accessories: As long as these items arent hazardous, theyre great for Goodwill.
- Outdoor décor: Help others freshen up their outdoor spaces with décor donations.
- Outdoor furniture: As long as your furniture isnt filthy or falling apart, its a great thing to give Goodwill. If it is falling apart and Goodwill won’t accept it, read our guide on where to get rid of old furniture for free.
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Support Food Banks Across Arizona Through Azfbn
For grants, endowments, fundraisers, stock & investment gifts, United Way, and including AzFBN in your will, please contact Terri Shoemaker or call 602-528-3434.
Want to show your support of hunger relief every time you hit the road? Consider getting a Hunger Relief License Plate! Proceeds benefit AzFBN, and youll be ending hunger one plate at a time! Visit Service Arizonafor more information.
Household Cleaners Or Chemicals
You may intend to be helpful by donating items to allow others to keep their homes clean and tidy. However, many of these products have potentially harmful ingredients that Goodwills staff would have to monitor, creating more of a hassle.
- Indoor cleaners, sprays, and solvents: Even if the cleaners or solvents youre trying to donate are marked non-toxic, some ingredients, when mixed, can become toxic or dangerous. This also applies if items expire or come into contact with extreme temperatures.
- Outdoor cleaners or pest control: Though important, Goodwill cannot accept pest control items as theres a risk they could come into contact with another item and make someone ill.
- Lawn fertilizer or plant care products: We discussed other lawn care items that are accepted above. However, Goodwill will not accept pesticides, fertilizers, or other similar treatments.
- Paint or paint thinner: Though you may think a paint donation can go a long way, you may be better off visiting a home improvement store to recycle or dispose of old paint responsibly.
- Home improvement or automotive materials: Home improvement materials, such as caulk, polish, spackle, and more are not accepted. Automotive materials, such as wiper fluid, antifreeze, old batteries, spare gas cans, oil, and more are not accepted either.
Read Also: Second Harvest Food Bank Volunteering
What Items Do Food Banks Need Most
Food banks mostly need long-life products that have extended use-by dates or non-perishables such as tinned vegetables and fish, biscuits, and sugar for example.
Tinned foods are often the first thing people think to donate however, other store cupboard essentials like stock cubes, condiments and spices, and jarred sauces are also welcome.
What Do Food Banks Need At Christmas
Festive treats are appreciated as food donations at food banks during the Christmas holidays particularly Christmas pudding, as it often comes with a long-life use by date. The Trussell Trust recommends non-alcoholic puddings.
Chocolate coins and Christmas dinner non-perishables such as tinned pies, vegetables, condiments, and gravy are all appreciated this time of year. Festive treats for those who can’t afford them at this time of year are welcome.
Related features:
Read Also: Maryland Food Bank Phone Number
Where Can I Surrender My Dog
You can surrender your dog by taking him to an animal shelter or rescue organization. Its important to know what will take place once you relinquish your pet to a shelter or rescue and also to be aware that there are alternatives. Some facilities dont allow walk-in surrenders and almost all charge a fee.
How To Donate To A Food Bank
If youre looking to make a difference in your local community and donate to a food bank, there are many ways you can do it. On their website, The Trussell Trust says, Were not sure about the impact of the pandemic will be on food stock levels in the coming months, so we really encourage you to support your local food bank if youre able to.
They encourage people to check what items are most needed on that day and donate those if possible.
Currently, you are still able to donate directly to your local food bank using the search feature to find the closest one to you, or through your local supermarket collection points. There should be a basket in your local supermarket where you can donate food to.
If you want to donate money instead, you can do this directly via The Trussell Trust.
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Food Safety & Legal Liability
Food Safety
As long as your excess food was purchased from a licensed food vendor and prepared and handled according to food safety laws and regulations, we can rescue it! Feel free to review our Food Guidelines for more information.
Legal Liability
Donating food is legal and encouraged by the federal government! As a food donor, you are protected under the The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act when you donate food to a charitable organization, such as RLC. There has never been a lawsuit related to donating food. In addition, RLC provides a hold harmless clause in all of our food donor agreements.
How Do I Donate To A Local Food Bank
The donation process will vary from food bank to food bank. To find your local food bank, Villarreal advises visiting FeedingAmerica.org and entering your zip code into the food bank locator. From there, she recommends connecting with that local food bank. Typically, theyâll have a most-needed list of items of things you can donate.
Financial donations are also welcome at most food banks as are volunteers. âVolunteerism is a huge need at all food banks,â Guerra says. âAnd the donation of the dollar goes a long way also. In fact, with the increase of fuel, most food banks need the dollar more than ever to keep food flowing into and across their local service region.â
Other local meal programs such as Meals on Wheels also rely on volunteers to deliver and prepare meals. âFor many recipients, the trusted Meals on Wheels volunteer who shows up every day with a meal and a smile is the only person they see or speak with all day,â says Jenny Young, the vice president of communications for Meals on Wheels America.
And if youâre not in a position to donate food, money, or time, Davis says helping spread the word about available resources for families in need is one of the easiest ways to support. âNo Kid Hungry has a texting line to help,â she says. âFamilies can text âFOODâ or âCOMIDAâ to 304-304 to find community meal sites for their kids.â
Recommended Reading: All Faiths Food Bank Sarasota Fl
Good Spread Peanut Butter
This delicious peanut butter company is tackling Severe Acute Malnutrition, which kills more children than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. Their solution? MANAits a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food, made from milk and peanut butter, and fortified with vitamins to fight malnutrition. Once administered on a regular basis, 96% of children are cured in less than six weeks. For every jar you buy, the company sends a packet of MANA to a community in need.
Clothing Shoes Boots And Accessories
Goodwill is a great place to find unique clothing items, and you can be a part of this. Plus, recycling clothing is a great way to help out the environment. Many people think they can never have enough clothing. But, going through your closet each season and donating what you havent worn is a great way to help out those in need.
Recommended Reading: Sf Marin Food Bank Locations
What Not To Donate To A Food Bank
Tatosian that while the food bank is appreciative of all donations, they do try to avoid certain items.
We dont accept anything in glass containers, because it can break and spoil other food, she shared. We really try to avoid, when possible, candy donations, sugar sweetened beverages soda, sweetened teas, sports drinks baked goods such as cookies, cakes, pastries, sweetened muffins.
For both large and small food pantries, donating spoiled or rotten food should always be avoided.
Cars would drive by and drop bags full of groceries that I’d have to mostly throw out open containers, grossly expired food, cookies with some missing from the sleeve, things that were moldy, Foster explained. It was its own full-time job just sorting through it all.
What To Donate To A Food Bank And What To Avoid
So, youre ready to donate food to your local food bank. Thats great! Whether youre starting a food drive or just planning to grab a few extra items for donation while out grocery shopping, there are a couple of things you should know about what you can donate and what food banks wont accept.
What food you CAN donate to your local food bank:
This part is pretty easy. Food banks accept dry and canned food donations. What does that mean? Basically, any food that is shelf-stable or nonperishable you can keep it in your pantry and it wont go bad. And remember, only donate food that hasnt reached its sell-by date yet. Specifically, food banks often need items like:
Thats definitely not an exhaustive list but it covers a lot of what food banks regularly need. Additionally, some food banks accept personal care and household items, since many families struggle to afford these items and they arent covered by other food assistance programs like SNAP.
If youre still stumped about what to donate, just look in your own pantry. Families struggling with hunger often cant afford the staples that we normally have stocked at home. So, check your pantry out and go from there. Even specialty foods like olive oil, dressings, or marinades can be helpful if they dont need to be refrigerated.
What not to donate to a food bank
Where can I donate food near me?
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Where To Donate Canned Foods
If youve got extra food crowding your pantry, you might be looking for a way to offload it to a worthy cause.
Whether youre moving house, doing some spring cleaning, or looking for a way to help end food insecurity in your community, youve likely turned to Google to find the best canned food donation centers near me or something like that.
In your search, you might have discovered that many food banks and donation centers have phased out the idea of donating canned food in favor of accepting cash. To avoid wasting more of your valuable time, check out this list of the top places to donate canned food in your area.
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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Larger Electronics And Other Devices
If you think you own outdated electronics, such as early flat screens, Goodwill would love to have them. The wise use of electronics, as well as recycling programs, is an important part of being environmentally conscious.
- Flat-screen TVs: Flat-screen TVs are a great electronic to donate because theyre relatively inexpensive for someone on a budget to set up. They also take up a small amount of space compared to other television sets, which are not accepted.
- Stereos, radios, and speakers: Did you go through a DJ phase? Feel like your devices are outdated? Theres likely someone out there who would love your old stereos, radios, or speakers.
- VCRs, DVDs, and streaming devices: Though you may only use the internet and other devices to view shows and movies, many people still enjoy more old school options or look for ways to watch VHS tapes and DVDs.
- Projectors and classroom aids: Projectors and other similar devices may help out teachers on a budget.
- Tablets and E-book readers: Is your iPad so old you cant update it anymore? Donate it to Goodwill. It may become valuable to someone who really needs it but cant afford newer models.
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 Square’s offices and warehouses are closed on the following holidays:
- Presidents’ Day
- Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
- New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day
Recommended Reading: El Dorado County Food Bank
Exercise Equipment And Sporting Goods
Donating exercise and sporting equipment is a great way to share health and wellness with others who cannot afford or choose to forego gym memberships.
- Exercise balls, bands, and weights: Help someone else meet their strength and fitness goals, especially if you have access to a gyms equipment instead.
- Bicycles, skateboards, and scooters: As long as these items are in working condition, others can enjoy them for years.
- Exercise machines and other equipment: Theres a good chance that a machine youre no longer using can be tuned up and enjoyed by someone else or even provide transportation to school or work.
- Sports balls and other equipment: Not only can gently used balls and other equipment be used by people in need, but its also a great opportunity for school programs to update their inventory, too.
- Jerseys and gear: Outdoor activities and sports gear can be fun for people of all ages.