3 Easy Ways To Donate Extra Pantry Staples
How to provide food to those in need.
The holidays are a time of sharing and being extra generous to those in need. If you have extra unused pantry items like produce or canned goods, giving them away to local organizations ensures that they won’t go to waste. Here are three tips for how to donate food item in your area when you have more than you’ll cook with.
1. Visit this site.
If your garden produced more than you can eat this season, visit AmpleHarvest.org and click “Growers Donate Food.” Then type in your zip code under “Find a Food Pantry” to locate a pantry in your area where you can donate veggies and fruit. Just be sure to ask them what kinds of produce they are looking for, how it should be packaged and the best days to drop off donations!
2. Download this app.
The OLIO app connects neighbors all over the world to share more and waste less! Simply download the free app and make a post anytime you have extra produce, canned goods, or groceries that you’d like to give away before they spoil. Share safely using the no-contact pick-up feature.
3. Be a “food rescuer.”
Download the free app Food Rescue and create a free account to be a “rescuer.” The app will give you locations in your area where you can pick up surplus food from “Food Donors” (grocers and restaurants) and deliver it to local “Receiving Agencies” (community kitchens and food pantries). Not tech-savvy? Visit local bakeshops and the bakery section of your grocery store and ask about fresh, excess food they may be willing to donate for you to take to a shelter.
A version of this article originally appeared in our print magazine, Woman’s World.
