DH is using community pantry for free food

[cookingaroast]

There is a community pantry in our village, with the purpose being to cut food waste. I completely support cutting down on food waste, and the food provided is all from supermarkets who would otherwise throw the food out. My issue is more I'm a bit uncomfortable with us taking the food.
We are both in the tech industry and both fall into the higher tax bracket for our salaries, more than capable of paying for food ourselves.

I've said to DH I don't think we should be utilising this resource and leave the food for others who need it more than us but he loves the bargains (free food) he gets from it. He genuinely wants to show off the stuff he's picked up whenever he goes - which is usually once a week.

I guess I feel a bit uncomfortable that this free food could be a lifeline to people. I do like charity shopping and getting a bargain but I don't feel as bad, as I'm paying what they decide they feel it's worth and the money is going to charity. This is completely free and run by volunteers.

I've not rtft but the one on the next village to us had to close because it wasn't being used enough. It is there for everyone.

That said if I were your husband I would probably wait until later in the day and let those who genuinely need it get first pick. I have a couple of friends who volunteer at them who say it isn't used enough too.
The purpose is to stop waste, not the same as a food bank.

I've never heard of this.
But is it in any way similar to shopping late at night and buying reduced food in the 'whoopsie/yellow sticker' section in supermarkets?
I can afford to buy food at full price but I'd rather spend less and save some money.

I'm just wondering now. Given that I can afford to pay full price, should I stop buying the reduced price food because I'm taking it away from others who can't afford to pay full price?

Tesco Express shops give food about to go out of date away after 9.30 ( yellow sticker marked CS) often salads and sandwiches but also veg packs, fruit, ready meals, kievs, finest mash and yogurts

I go up most nights and get the lot
no one else can be arsed it’s seems , staff aren’t allowed to take it and if not it goes into the bin apparently.

sometimes the haul adds up to 65/70 quid ( admittedly this is due to repacked sarnies being 4 quid etc.

I have no issue doing this despite being relatively comfortably off

the community pantry thing I don’t get tho
humiliating for him , icky for you and not really on the spirit of the project no?

He definitely shouldn’t start donating food to it! That is spectacularly missing the point. But if there is an opportunity to donate financially to keep it open, that would be appropriate. It’s completely fine to take the food, though, so long as you actually eat it. That is the point.

They give it away or sell it reduced price? I've never seen it for free.

@PyongyangKipperbang apologies I think I misunderstood what you were meaning and I got all confused 🙂
But this thread shows that people are unaware of what the community pantry concept is and if there's one throwing food away is it because they aren't advertising the fact that anyone and everyone can use it.

It’s to cut food waste, it’s not a food bank. We use one and they have tons of food from supermarkets that will be thrown away in a few hours, so the volunteers are always urging us to take more than we need.

Make regular donations to a food bank if you want to balance it out. But don’t feel guilty for taking from this kind of initiative.

On your last bit, no. If some one needs it, it would have been sold already.
Shops want to reduce waste. They are not charities.

Same principle, and no, if you’re there and will eat it, you should buy it rather than leave it for a hypothetical less well-off person to come along later.

We run a community grocery from our church which is aimed at both cutting food waste and supporting families who need it. However it is for anyone to use.
We spend about £2,000 a month from church funds to supply fresh fruit and vegetables to supplement donations of other stock from supermarkets but there needs to be a good footfall through the shop otherwise these would go off.
The only way to have a varied selection of good quality food is for everyone in the community to use it if they want to.
At ours people pay a yearly membership and then a small amount every time they shop so it’s not free however many shoppers and supporters will pay extra to allow someone who can’t afford even a small amount to get their shopping for nothing.
There are sometimes free things to be had but that is generally when we’ve had a large donation which would go off before it can be sold.
We welcome everyone in - the more the merrier in my view

It's a new thing some Tesco's are doing apparently.

I am confused. Tesco giving stuff away for free is literally the same as a community fridge.

Yeah I'm not well off by any means so I buy reduced food and freeze it. More money to pay for the heating bill this winter

I always look out for reduced meat.
I picked up a half price shoulder of lamb in Lidl recently. I was well chuffed! It is in my freezer now and will be used at xmas. I love lamb but it is so expensive.

News to me. Great they're doing this. Better than it going in the bin

Exactly 😂
Some Tesco's have started doing this as an alternative to a volunteer from a community fridge having to drive there to collect it.
But it's the same concept.

Crikey who on earth got worked up about that ??

What could this man do that you would find “sexy” in this situation?

Such an odd thing to say.

There’s nothing wrong with what he’s doing. Assuming, of course, that he’s real, because MN definitely wouldn’t make up a thread like this to drive engagement and ram fat jab adverts down my throat.

I have several 'Halloween' cheesecakes reduced to 50p from Aldi. I'll just unfreeze them and dress them up with 'christmas sauce' job done

Maybe if he went in his underpants?

Several people who think yellow ticket stuff is for the poor.

I run a food bank. Food banks are for people who are in crisis and have no food. All the food is dried, tinned and long life.
we signpost people all the time to larders or pantry’s where they can get fresh, frozen or tinned food. Pantry’s and larders are open to everyone and is all about not wasting food, and they are open to anyone no matter what their situation, they have all kinds of food, whether that be apples from someone’s tree or bread that Tesco’s can’t sell tomorrow
any one can use them but they are post code allotted . It’s a small fee to join up (like £1) and then you pay like a fiver and can can get all kinds of different stuff, often to about £20 pounds worth of food

We have only just used the last of our stash of 2024 reduced to clear finest/extra special Christmas puddings.

A community pantry is for people who need the food. It will cut food waste, but the name “community pantry” really does mean that this is for people who need it. It’s different to a food bank as no referral is needed. But it’s still meant for people in need. The word community very strongly implies that.

I have stopped donating to such causes after seeing several people like OP’s DH taking bags of food. I saw someone with a really fancy rucksack (£100 ish) and another pair of friends very fashionably dressed/makeup etc - all helping themselves to a local food scheme, the purpose of which is to “make a difference”. Not to feed tight wads who don’t want to buy their own food and would prefer well meaning strangers to donate it to them so they can buy themselves nice things or save their money.

A Sexy Man goes to Tesco and pays full price. Didn't you know that ?