DH is using community pantry for free food

Jesus Christ of course he’s not doing anything wrong.

the purpose is to reduce food waste by preventing food going to landfill. It’s not means tested. It is open to everybody, in order to reduce waste to as close to zero as possible.

He is reducing food waste. Which is the entire point of the project. Nobody is “missing out”. That’s what FOOD BANKS are for. I’m from a poor town and I’m surrounded by food banks, zero waste projects etc and they get a huge amount of food and lots of it is Simply saved from landfill. Which is a good thing.

Not at ours but it might be different at OP's since the food is free. At ours, you pay £5 for a yearly membership and then pay for the food too.

Sounds no different to the lady down our road who collects from Olio and offers things in our street WhatsApp. It's usually tonnes of white bread or a million bananas etc. all would go to waste otherwise. We don't get means tested if we say yes to some stuff. Unless he is swooping in and emptying the larder before anyone else gets a chance, I dont see an issue.

You can usually make cash donations

If there's plenty there for people who need it and he's just taking the excess that would otherwise be thrown away, I think it's fine.

Lots of people are mistaking a local food pantry with a food bank.

He is taking food that would have gone to waste.

I often get stuff from ours as i am walking past when it closes and they still have stuff going. Usually bread rolls or some veg.

As long as he is not jostling people out the way to get the best stuff then no issue with what he is doing, but if you can afford to then maybe make a donation every now and then to support it.

I think it's great he is helping stop food waste. I assume he is taking the perishable items which would otherwise end up in the bin if no-one took them? Bread, vegetables, fruit, cakes, pastries etc.?

I'd also recommend he download the Olio app too, if he's passionate about it maybe he could volunteer to collect and distribute food himself too? Olio are last of the pile to distribute food waste, the charities take precedent so what Olio get is what will be binned if they don't take it, it's not being taken from anyone in need.

I've volunteered with Olio for many years and I get people come and collect from all walks of life. It's not a bad thing to want to stop food waste and it's not taking it away from people more in need, it's stopping it going in the bin!

Is he allowed to buy yellow sticker food?

At our local one, individuals don't donate, supermarkets and the like do.

Very different from food banks in several ways.

"I would also say DH needs to donate every time he goes."

How is he going to donate when he's not a supermarket / Greggs etc 🤦‍♀️?

Something that no one had mentioned is that community pantries need to have a method for disposing of the perishable food which no one takes and which is often donated in large amounts. Foodbanks (at least round here) ask for non perishables. I know that some do offer fresh fruit and veg but the really short date stuff...perishable food, cream cakes, bread and so on comes with its own disposal problems.

I think in your position I would go and make it very clear to volunteers etc what my position was and whether it was appropriate...they will know whether they are serving those in food poverty or whether it will go unused otherwise.

I would also say DH needs to donate every time he goes.

He's using a Community Pantry in exactly the way it's supposed to be used.

You don't make food donations to a Community Pantry. Shops donate the food they are going to have to throw away because it's reaching it's use by date. Schemes like this need lots of people to take some items or the food goes to waste - completely defeating the objective of the Community Pantry.

It's not a food bank.

Surely it's not that difficult to understand the difference between the two?

Your husband is not doing anything wrong at all.

I have a community pantry near me and I actually spoke to the organiser before taking anything as I wasn't quite sure either since I can afford food without it.

She was very clear that it was absolutely for everyone. Obviously if you are in need for food you just turn up when it opens to guarantee you get something.

The community pantry is to STOP FOOD WASTE and is nothing at all like a food bank. He is doing exactly the same as you. Most food in a community pantry cannot be given to food bank as it is perishable / past sell by date. If not taken that day it would end up in landfill which community is trying to stop.

It's not a food bank 🙄. It's not for helping people who can't afford food, it's for reducing food waste!

Community pantries are nothing to do with food banks and not meant to prop up the needy.
They're designed to hand out food that would otherwise be wasted and are open to anyone in the community.
Nothing selfish or greedy about it at all

How many times.

IT'S NOT A FOOD BANK.

Ugh. I'd find my DH deeply unattractive if he did that. So selfish & greedy.

Does he at least volunteer with the food bank?

If it was aimed at people in need then no he shouldn't use it. But if it is to cut food waste then absolutely use it - it won't cut food waste if people don't use it!

I feel like, on the whole, if your aim is to ensure people who are struggling can access food then you’d help more by using community pantries/buying stickers food & making a regular donation of money to a food bank.

We’re comfortable and never go near the yellow
label shelves anymore, there has been such a surge in people relying on it

I honestly find this absurd. Do you avoid promotions too? My local Waitrose has yellow stickers all the time, the other day I bought some cream cakes & a pizza, the pizza was still more expensive vs others they sold but I fancied trying it. This is not uncommon, who relies on yellow stickers when the supermarket sells cheaper food?

I know, this is such a weird take on it.

I will consciously decide to spend more than I have to, just in order to what? Make myself feel better about myself? Convince myself that I am rich? In the weird hope that the next person who walks past the reduced to clear shelves is poorer than I am?

Bizarre.

Tonight for dinner we are having some sort of chicken thigh traybake thing made with yellow sticker chicken thighs, yellow sticker roast potatoes, yellow sticker lemons and yellow sticker broccoli.

Should I not forage for blackberries, damsons etc because I'm a higher earner and am depriving others - more needy than myself???

Oh no, we have food banks too