I know. It's January. You've already given all of your canned goods, boxed foods, and bags of beans and rice in the food drives last year. So I should save the lesson for later, right?
Nope. This is the PERFECT time for me to remind you that cleaning out your cupboards once or twice a year isn't charitable giving. At best, it costs charitable organizations a LOT of money in resources and at worst you're probably making someone sick OR even killing someone.
Yes. I said killing someone.
Before I'm too much of a Debbie Downer, let me just share some of my personal experiences.
10 years ago, I was in a similar position that I'm in now. Broke, single parent, with no job and little money coming in. A local church donated some food and toys for my son, and I was absolutely grateful to be receiving such a gift. However, I thought some of the items included were questionable. The box of toiletries contained a sample size toothpaste, 2 toothbrushes, a travel size mouthwash....and 30 tubes of genital wart cream.
No, it wasn't an accident. Many of my neighbors who received the boxes got similar. And the ones who didn't get genital wart cream were married.
Fast forward to this winter. Joe left, I've got little money coming in, and I was given help by the school doing a Christmas basket. So, thinking little or nothing of it, I just put the food in my pantry.
Well, tonight, I went to make spaghetti, and was going to use one of the cans of tomato paste I'd gotten. I didn't look at the expiration date, since the can wasn't rusty or bulging, so it should be fine, right?
It exploded. A tiny explosion, but still an explosion. And the rotten tomato paste smell is pungent. Then I saw the expiration date: June 2014. 2 1/2 years ago. And I KNOW this was donated as I haven't bought tomato paste in months and I was excited to have some around to make the sauce a little more tomatoey. So, I went through other cans. Some expired as far back as 2012. Nothing wrong with the can, nothing wrong with the label.
Canning doesn't preserve food indefinitely. Neither does freezing. But, this isn't what I wanted to address.
It's "giving". I use quotation marks because it's not really giving if all you're doing is making your life a little easier.
Someone wasted their time handling and boxing those canned goods. And please don't say "but that was good food!" NO, IT WASN'T. If your food is expired, THROW IT AWAY. Do not donate it.
First and foremost, it's fucking expired. Seriously.
Second, you're telling people in need that their actual lives don't matter to you. "Silly peasants, eat the scraps from my plate, and LEARN TO LIKE IT!"
Third, you're putting people's lives at risk.
If my 6 year old had been helping me by opening the cans, I might not have known. See, he's autistic, and his communication is usually relegated to his PODD/PECS books, using Green Eggs and Ham to communicate, or just shrieking. If something happens when he's helping, there could be an "uh-oh", or there could be silence.
If it had been a little louder, or more hectic in here, I might not have heard the pop and just assumed I'd made the mess while opening the can and delegating one of any number of situations that can arise with 2 young kids and an infant.
But, I shouldn't have to actually explain why giving expired food to your food bank/food drive is bad. Giving expired food to people is literally giving garbage to people. If you don't have canned goods to give, I don't know of a single food-collecting group that won't take gift cards or money donations. $10 will go farther, anyway. They have volunteers and employees that know how to get more money for the dollar than you ever could.
When you do give, and if you insist on giving tangible product, do so with real humility. Give because it's the right thing to do, not to get a pizza party or whatever.
But, please, do give. I'm not saying this as a recipient; I'm saying this as a long-time volunteer. I've seen people mistreated for not accepting gifts "the right way". For not being gracious enough for a gift that they couldn't possibly utilize. For daring to keep their pet with them. For being seemingly able-bodied.
For needing help.
If you're going to give with a caveat, start a bank and give loans.
But, if you are truly feeling charitable, give with no strings, no rules, and without needing to be in charge. Because if there are strings, if there are caveats...it is no longer a gift.
