Submitted by
Jane Eisenhauer
SNAP-Ed Nutrition Educator
Wild West Extension District
Donating Food to a Food Bank or Pantry
When donating food to a food bank or food pantry, it is important to not just “clean out your cupboard” and donate the foods that you don’t want or can’t use anymore. Food pantries do not want to waste food, but do not want to provide unsafe or unhealthy food to their customers either.
In order to help maintain the balance of not wasting food, but also providing safe and healthy food to food banks and food pantries, here are some answers to frequently asked questions on the topic:
Can I donate “expired” food? NO • Do NOT donate food that is past its “best by,” “use by,” or “sell by” date. It is considered safe for food pantries to distribute some foods and for consumers to use some foods for certain amounts of time past these dates, which varies by the type of food. However, the best practice is to not donate any food past these dates, because it may take a while for the food to actually get on the food pantry shelf and then to the consumer.
Can I donate damaged packages? In general, NO • If a canned food has a sharp dent, a dent deep enough to rest a finger in, severe rust pits, swollen or bulging ends, or any evidence of leaking, the food is unsafe to eat and should be discarded. If canned fruit has a small dent, is not leaking, rusty, or swollen and smells okay, it should be safe to eat. (Canned vegetables or other canned foods with any size of dent should be thrown away.) Any glass jars that have a damaged tamper-resistant seal or cracks or chips should also be discarded, because the contained food may not be safe. Plastic or paperboard containers that have a damaged tamper-resistant seal should be discarded.
Can I donate home-canned or home-prepared foods? NO • Because of the risk of botulism in improperly canned foods and the large variation in the level of safety of the methods used by home canners, food bank and food pantries should not accept any home-canned items. Home baked items may have a shorter shelf life than commercially prepared baked goods and present other food safety risks, so food pantries should only accept food baked at a licensed establishment.
Can I donate re-packaged food? NO • Only donate food that is in its original package with the label still intact. Packaging should be unopened and not damaged due to the risk of the food getting contaminated during repackaging or if the packaging is damaged.
