Food pantry etiquette

I volunteer at a food pantry in my city. If you don't support your food pantry, seriously consider it. They are there to serve the underprivileged, but to also support families who have been laid off and need temporary help.

Here are some pointers from my experience:

1. Get to know the clients in your area - our food pantry serves a client base that is 75% Hispanic, so items that are in demand are tortillas, bagged pinto beans, canned corn, etc. Pumpkin, cranberry sauce and stuffing are not really wanted. A simple way to check is to call the pantry to get a list or see what they need at any given time. We have refrigerators at our facility, so we can take eggs and meat, check with your local one.

2. Think of things other than canned goods - for instance, small bags of flour, sugar, cooking oil, toilet paper & diapers are all HOT items. We can never seem to keep them in stock.

3. I know that many of us shop in bulk, hence the name of my blog! However, for food pantry needs, smaller is better. Meaning, don't donate a 10 lb. bag of sugar, buy 10 1lb. bags. First, that gives more clients the opportunity to have a certain item. Second, each client gets a certain amount in pounds, so a huge bag of sugar means that they get less food that week. Buy items that can be easily broken into individual items (such as a 12 pack of chicken noodle soup or 12 pack of tuna).

4. Don't donate junk - I can't tell you how many cans we get that are expired or other gross things. Donations should not be a way for you to clean out your pantry and get rid of stuff that you don't want. While this is a minority of the food we receive, it is frustrating for a volunteer to have to monitor. Why would I want to give a mother expired food to give to her children?

On the same note, I have volunteered during Katrina relief and at the Angel Tree project and have seen clothes, etc. donated that are filthy and not able to be worn. Why would anyone donate items such as that? We simply threw them into the trash. Do everyone a favor and throw away your own garbage, only donate gently used items or new items.