Food Drives

[jparrott]

You've seen them at every grocery store. Conveniently just past the checkout counter, a box for you, loyal grocery store customer, to place canned goods for donation to local food banks. Presumably, you've just purchased said canned goods at full retail price, supplying the canner, supplier, wholesaler, and retailer with their full profits. That 69 cents you just spent on those garbanzo beans would've probably supplied double-to-triple the food if used to buy from further up the supply chain.

But, as I saw just now on a run, grocery stores are all too happy to put someone out front to plaintively request your support with the donation of full-retail, not-easily-packaged for mass-distribution, single piece-part canned goods. It's disingenuous, of course, but as long as people support it, it's free money and goodwill for Royal Ahold and the like.

So, just a reminder. Help the hungry. But do it with cash.

[Ilaine]

We go through the pantry once or twice a year, looking for food that's approaching the "best if used by" date, and deliver it to the Capital Area Food Bank in Lorton, VA on Saturday morning. Before I got a full time job, I used to deliver it to the nearest church with a food bank (Calvary Hill Baptist Church. 9301 Little River Turnpike Fairfax, VA 22031) but that is only open Tuesday morning. Saturday morning is more do-able.

I generally bring in three or four or five grocery bags full of all kinds of weird stuff, like most of a multi-pack of Pad Thai noodles from Costco (son thought he'd like it but didn't) or microwaveable gravy (my mom).

Not to disparage cash.

[jparrott]

Of course, you should give stuff you aren't using. That isn't my point. My point is that grocery stores set up boxes right after checkout counters, and invite people to set up stands, for people to give items that they just bought. That is royally disingenuous.