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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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 🤦‍♀️?

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

Very different from food banks in several ways.

Is he allowed to buy yellow sticker food?

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!

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.

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.

You can usually make cash donations

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.

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.

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.

How is it that supermarkets have so much food waste anyway? Obviously we don't want a repeat of the bare shelves of 2020, but if that much is being chucked daily, what's going on and how can it be avoided?

Reading the OP it's clear that he takes a pleasure in this and shows off what he has managed to get hold of. I work with clients that use community pantries and food banks. The amount that the community pantries have to give varies massively and I wouldn't have a problem with him taking a reasonable share if they had plenty to give but if the amount is limited on the day he goes he should be asking himself if he really needs it or if he just wants it because it's free.

I’ve run community pantries. You are wrong. They are to cut food waste, and they are for everyone. The point is they aren’t the same as food banks - that’s why they have a different name and a different aim.

There used to be one near where I used to live and it opened twice a week. I could never be bothered queuing but it was all types of people from those who were struggling to those who were well off. It's no different to shopping in a charity shop or buying a "Too Good to Go" bag; buying something which would otherwise be thrown away. Sometimes they had so much excess that the volunteers would walk down the street with trays of food asking people to take stuff. They gave me several tubs of expired yoghurt once and it tasted fine.

I think this proves that there are lots of people who are very odd about second hand, reduced to clear and free food from zero-waste pantries.

Despicable. No wonder society is falling apart when those who can afford not to decide to take from those in need. Absolute disgrace

I think people not looking around them (e.g. reading the thread) and general ignorance contributes more to damaging our society.

Reading comprehension is a totally dying art. On the other hand, reading just a wee bit and leaping to a half-arsed conclusion is alive and kicking.

But isn’t the point of community pantries that they have food that’s going to spoil soon or won’t keep? So it won’t sit on the shelf until someone who needs it comes along, it will be thrown away

A food waste place is absolutely not a food bank. We have similar here, you pay a membership fee and it isn’t a free for all. A food bank normally is referral only.