Is this typical of a food bank/pantry?

[eviee987]

Just wondering, first time using one as a single parent. It was delivered to me. Cereal was already open, as in box and packaging that contains the cereal. So we couldn't use that. Food that was frozen such as chicken fillets were already defrosting so wasn't safe to use unless used the same day. The food bank is about a mile or so away so maybe was left out. Fruit shoots that are dated Sept 24. Some other food like half a cucumber that wasn't sealed in any packaging. Just wondered if this is typical kind of thing when using a food bank

No I don't think this is usual, it isn't in my area anyway. Food banks here don't accept frozen food or opened packets.

Likewise, the food bank I support doesn’t accept open, frozen or out of date items either. Sorry you had a bad first experience.

Yes unfortunately a lot had to go as I didn't trust it and didn't know how it had been stored etc. But I think Aldi or another Supermarket may donate to them also as well as the public

No, it’s not. At least the two I know very well wouldn’t give out of date food or anything open! They also wouldn’t give raw frozen meat. They do buy in supermarket goods for families but not things like this - more specialist items for allergies or similar.

They do sometimes decant things though: for instance a big box of teabags is split and bagged to benefit the most households, a pack of liquitabs is split… that type of thing.

Ring them and explain. They’ll probably apologise and replace. Ultimately it’s mostly volunteers and mistakes can happen.

The cucumber just needs washing and as it’s half slice the end sliver off. It would be unwrapped in many shops too. It’s not a big deal.

Cook the chicken and freeze it

I think food banks and food pantries are slightly different maybe? At least in our area. Food bansk are brand new products donated by people or shops, whereas panties are more stuff close to the edge of use by or past their use by that you can purchase very cheaply

Was it an official food bank/community scheme or one of the ones where anyone can just leave unwanted food?
Sounds very odd.

The food bank I volunteer at wouldn't give out opened or out of date products. They do have fresh and frozen produce which is kept in fridges and freezers. They don't pre-bag though, it's laid out like a shop so people can choose what they want. If they don't have the facilities at home for frozen food, they don't have to choose it.

Yes, it’s important info as to whether this was a Trussel Trust Foodbank, in which case this would be v unusual. Or another one, possibly an independent.

It was a farm local to me, they have a pantry, cafe, community help and things like that

They grow their own veg etc and then I think people donate and Supermarkets I believe donate to them as well

It does sound odd. Where I donate they don’t accept open, out of date, chilled or frozen (I know they get produce from supermarkets and meats but don’t know the rules around those).

@eviee987 ah it sounds like it's one of those "leave any foods bits you don't want" schemes which unfortunately some people take to mean "leave some food you have half used but don't want anymore".
The cereal for example could have been tried but they didn't like it so thought they could pass it on. But really they should have sellotaped it back up and put a note on "tried a bowl but i didn't like it" so you'd know it's not "new".
Do you know who is actually running it?

No it's not typical. Anything open could have been tampered with. The cereal should have gone in a bin. 6 months out of date drinks the same. If you can, you would be better walking the mile to go and see how it handles chilled/frozen foods.

A food pantry is different from a food bank. A Food pantry/food share is where they they are given food when it's about to go out of date. It's all about not wasting food. We have a community food pantry and anyone can get stuff there.

A food bank is different, you are usually referred by advice centre, school etc. At a food bank, they can't sell opened or out of date food .

If you are struggling for food have a look on the olio app, the local supermarkets near me all seem to donate to it. It’s usually going off that day/the next day but quite often has some nice treats on there.

As a PP has said, there may be a difference between food banks and pastries.
I volunteer at a foodbank and we get donations from local food shops (mostly bakery but also farm shop) and supermarkets.
We do split boxes of tea bags when they're packed in pouches of 40.
We're scrupulous about frozen foods and best before dates and also check all the fresh fruit, veg and baked goods to make sure its in usable condition.

No, none of that would be given out by our food bank.

It sounds more like a food share place than an actual food bank. The fruit shoots would most likely be ok but can understand you not wanting to eat the opened cereal or cucumber! As others had said, cooked the chicken then you can freeze it again.

No out of date/opened food is allowed in our foodbanks ever .
Newport South Wales area .

I’m Peak District area so quite rural and there isn’t much round and some food banks only open during hours that im at work. I have a young child so had it delivered this time. Some of the items were cupboard staples which is good and some bread, that had also been frozen.. also got some cleaning supplies and some fruit and veg

Drinks past their best before date are absolutely fine!

Where I live there is a pantry that people pay for and you get what’s there, no choosing. It’s all donated from part of fare share, a mixture of fresh fruit and veg, frozen veg and frozen meat, tins and jars, bread etc.
the frozen stuff arrives in a freezer van and all the goods are distributed into massive cool boxes with lids about an hour before the pantry opens, pantry runs for 2hours, any unclaimed frozen goods go into the freezer and back out again the next week. But if they are delivered to households on the odd occasion they are not in a cool box as it’s too large to fit in the boot of a car. (Run by volunteers mostly) alit of the fresh produce is not in wrappers, crates and crates full of loose carrots, blueberries, etc

You can choose that in your own home. I would eat a tin of baked beans 6 months out of date. But food banks are governed by the same food regulations as shops.

Shops can sell best before foods after the date as long as they make it clear and the quality hasn’t obviously deteriorated. They can’t sell use by after the date because that’s when it may be unsafe.