Is this a particularly uneducated take on food insecurity/poverty?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Uneducated and also showing their privilege.

Aren't the two opposites generally? You cant' be both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Longtime food pantry volunteer and board member. No two good outreach programs are alike.

Mine is all volunteer and provides non perishable food only but also can supply diapers, cleaning supplies and toiletries.

Our clients are nearly all working poor but make too much to qualify for EBT or food stamps. Typical client works seasonally, married with young children and renting an apartment or in shared housing.

Shared housing means limited storage space so we can’t give out industrial sized cans of tomatoes, for example. We request rice in 1 pound bags max. We can’t decant and repackage so donating your Costco sized bottle of dish detergent/laundry detergent/ketchup/Mr. Clean/vegetable oil is burdensome for us. We have limited storage space too.

My charity partners with a farmers market and another local food bank to provide clients access to fresh produce, eggs and milk.

We keep an updated list of most needed items.
Sometimes, we get specific and advice we have too much peanut butter so no thanks but really need jelly.

No expired foods. Prefer no glass jars. Nothing
opened or used.

All this said that the communication you received was terse and unkind. It’s frustrating dealing with unsolicited, unwanted food and donors who don’t understand that although they think they’re helping, sometimes they are making the work of the volunteers difficult.

I have had to deal with a literal pick up truckload of expired, dented, leaking boxes of canned goods dumped in our parking lot overnight. Had to pay extra for our trash company to haul it away - plus overfilled the dumpster with boxes the food arrived - huge unexpected cost to our little charity that operates on a shoestring budget.



None of our clients have dishwashers, so we don’t accept not ask for dishwasher detergent.

Of course. So if someone tried to donate dishwasher detergent, is it better to say "Unfortunately we are unable to use this because our clients don't have dishwashers. Our clients could really use liquid handwashing detergent in smaller bottles?" or
to say "Your detergent is useless?"

[Anonymous]

I think the idea of a wish-list is a good one. As for the letter, I’d take it in the spirit of having a common goal — to feed the hungry — rather than as an insult, particularly if it was written by a volunteer. Yes, it could have been more gently worded, but it may have been written by someone with more experience feeding people than writing letters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uneducated and also showing their privilege.

Aren't the two opposites generally? You cant' be both.

Of course you can. Lots of people with money and no brains or education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m not really sure what your question is. I’m sure that any donations that you make will be appreciated. I’m also sure that it will be appreciated even more if someone doesn’t have to spend money for expensive and possibly unhealthy food (cheap oil or margarine for example) in order to make the donated food work. I’m not sure what you mean by “fair”. Limited income means painful decisions. Buying diapers and toilet paper and paying rent might mean that butter and oil are burdensome expenses, especially the week that the rent is due.

You have no idea what people have or don’t have. It would be kind to assume that people have nothing, and to package your donations accordingly if you can, especially if you’re donating the least expensive part of a dish that requires other ingredients. I might get tuna helper — since I could also include a can of tuna. If I donate cake mix or cereal, I might also donate shelf stable milk.

You yourself note that food is wildly expensive. If butter costs $ 4-6, and eggs cost $4, then the cake mix that costs $2 -3 can turn a treat into an expensive burden plus icing. So I guess my suggestion is to be as thoughtful as you can when making donations that require other ingredients— especially when the ingredients are expensive relative to the donation.


tldr: Wonderful that you’re donating! Try to do so in a thoughtful way, if and as you can.

Did you read OP's post? The food pantry told her (and everyone else on their email list) that not only are her donations not appreciated, but they are in fact "useless."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Uneducated and also showing their privilege.

Aren't the two opposites generally? You cant' be both.

Of course you can be both. Think Lauren Boebert.

[Anonymous]

Don't most of the recipients also receive food stamps?

Apart from that, Betty crocker icing tubs are sold at Dollar Tree for $1.25.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't most of the recipients also receive food stamps?

Apart from that, Betty crocker icing tubs are sold at Dollar Tree for $1.25.

Eggs and oil, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not punish the FOOD INSECURE PEOPLE because the people running the program are a**holes or used the wrong tone or whatever, am side eyeing every single person who wrote that.

The FOOD INSECURE PEOPLE can benefit from OTHER ORGANIZATIONS that I would be donating to instead of the a**hole one. I'm side eyeing you right back for thinking that it's ok to treat people who are GIVING YOU THINGS like garbage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m not really sure what your question is. I’m sure that any donations that you make will be appreciated. I’m also sure that it will be appreciated even more if someone doesn’t have to spend money for expensive and possibly unhealthy food (cheap oil or margarine for example) in order to make the donated food work. I’m not sure what you mean by “fair”. Limited income means painful decisions. Buying diapers and toilet paper and paying rent might mean that butter and oil are burdensome expenses, especially the week that the rent is due.

You have no idea what people have or don’t have. It would be kind to assume that people have nothing, and to package your donations accordingly if you can, especially if you’re donating the least expensive part of a dish that requires other ingredients. I might get tuna helper — since I could also include a can of tuna. If I donate cake mix or cereal, I might also donate shelf stable milk.

You yourself note that food is wildly expensive. If butter costs $ 4-6, and eggs cost $4, then the cake mix that costs $2 -3 can turn a treat into an expensive burden plus icing. So I guess my suggestion is to be as thoughtful as you can when making donations that require other ingredients— especially when the ingredients are expensive relative to the donation.


tldr: Wonderful that you’re donating! Try to do so in a thoughtful way, if and as you can.

Did you read OP's post? The food pantry told her (and everyone else on their email list) that not only are her donations not appreciated, but they are in fact "useless."

Yes, I read it.

My guess — only a guess — is that while those sorts of donations are problematic, and should be discouraged, there may be people who have the resources to use and appreciate the donation. This is one of those rare moments when I’m “both sides”. And I hope the people reading the email will be in a position to donate more thoughtfully going forward — instead of dumping whatever is in their pantries with no thoughts about what expenses might actually be needed to use the donation.

As an example, I might donate instant oatmeal, because the steel cut oats that I usually buy need time and cooking facilities. Instant just needs hot water and a cup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't most of the recipients also receive food stamps?

Apart from that, Betty crocker icing tubs are sold at Dollar Tree for $1.25.

Not always. And that would be a great idea for a donation. If I had to get to a Dollar Tree that means a minimum of $4 for bus fares plus the price of the icing. It would be really thoughtful if someone would donate both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't most of the recipients also receive food stamps?

Apart from that, Betty crocker icing tubs are sold at Dollar Tree for $1.25.

Not always. And that would be a great idea for a donation. If I had to get to a Dollar Tree that means a minimum of $4 for bus fares plus the price of the icing. It would be really thoughtful if someone would donate both.

Are we really pretending people who travel to food banks don’t travel other places? Or walk? Or that they don’t have EGGS? Really? This is so obtuse, seriously. You think it’s that big a hardship to get to Dollar Tree? You’re insane. And yes, OP, uneducated or willfully ignorant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't most of the recipients also receive food stamps?

Apart from that, Betty crocker icing tubs are sold at Dollar Tree for $1.25.

Not always. And that would be a great idea for a donation. If I had to get to a Dollar Tree that means a minimum of $4 for bus fares plus the price of the icing. It would be really thoughtful if someone would donate both.

Are we really pretending people who travel to food banks don’t travel other places? Or walk? Or that they don’t have EGGS? Really? This is so obtuse, seriously. You think it’s that big a hardship to get to Dollar Tree? You’re insane. And yes, OP, uneducated or willfully ignorant.

I’m also on a budget. And I don’t drive. So, yes, traveling to multiple places has to be balanced against the rest of my budget. I also have to limit what I can physically carry on any one trip. I’m not “pretending “.
I have no idea what you may or may not be doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't most of the recipients also receive food stamps?

Apart from that, Betty crocker icing tubs are sold at Dollar Tree for $1.25.

Not always. And that would be a great idea for a donation. If I had to get to a Dollar Tree that means a minimum of $4 for bus fares plus the price of the icing. It would be really thoughtful if someone would donate both.

Are we really pretending people who travel to food banks don’t travel other places? Or walk? Or that they don’t have EGGS? Really? This is so obtuse, seriously. You think it’s that big a hardship to get to Dollar Tree? You’re insane. And yes, OP, uneducated or willfully ignorant.

I'm not the pp you quoted, but I am another pp that has very critical of the food banks "useless" comment.
Maybe not in the DC area. My (adult) son volunteers at a food bank in another state, part of Appalachia. Many of the clients they serve do not have cars. They get a box of food delivered to them once per week, and yes, it would be a great hardship for them to get to Dollar General-which could be several miles away down a hilly narrow, winding road (so unsuitable for walking or biking) and in an area not served by buses.

[Anonymous]

Not a nice way to educate donors. It's important to say, but in a neutral, fact-based way.