When donating canned food, what is a good item to donate?
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Allie (
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November 22nd, 2009
What is something that is a good item to donate when donating canned food? I’m going to see a show tomorrow night and they’re collecting canned goods at the door for a Thanksgiving Jam. I’m not sure what would be a good item to bring. Any suggestions?
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It isn’t canned, but the best thing to donate for a food bank is peanut butter. It is an excellent source of non-perishable protein, needs nothing additional to prepare it, and is filling. (Tuna also works, but canned tuna on it’s own isn’t very tasty.) The area shelter did a peanut butter drive this summer because it is one of the most needed/requested, but least donated, items.
Otherwise, I would take something nutritious that doesn’t need any additional ingredients to prepare it.
peanut butter and canned hams, and tuna are things that have protein and can be the base of a persons meal.
@Judi I forgot about canned hams! Great suggestion.
I’ve worked at food banks before and mostly people give the canned foods that have been sitting in their cupboards for month because it’s food they don’t like themselves. Please donate some good food.
Nowadays, if there’s a sale on soup or canned food at the store, I’ll buy some that I would normally buy for myself and drop them in the donation bin at the market on the way out.
I think soup is usually a good one, or maybe some canned fruit.
Non-creamed corn
Tuna
Tomato sauce
Pasta
(said as person who, as a child, had to eat donated food every so often).
Many moons ago, when my kids were small, I had to call a food bank for food. In addition to the food that they brought, they brought a gift voucher to a local grocery store. The blessing in that was that I was able to buy the things that I really needed but were not food, like diapers and toilet paper.
It was a humbling experience. Now that I am successful, it really keeps me grounded.
My local canned-food charity, Food Gatherers, recommends:
Food Gatherers does not accept opened containers and expired products, and asks that you avoid items in glass as they sometimes break in transit. Thank You!
Food Items:
Tuna Fish or other canned fish or meat
Beef Stew, Meat Soups
Hearty Soups
Canned Spaghetti or Pasta
Chili
Beans (kidney, pinto, green, yellow, refried or black beans)
Baby Food or Formula
Ensure or other nutritional supplement drinks
Rice
Dry Beans
Dry Pasta
Powdered Milk
Pancake or Baking Mixes
Cereal/Oatmeal
Granola Bars
Peanut Butter
Jelly (in plastic jars)
We also collect Personal Care Items:
Diapers
Toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Soap
Shampoo
Disposable Razors
Okay, I just have to say…anything you donate will be appreciated. But, and I say this as someone who has needed to accept food donations…A LOT of the food donations, or food provided from the state are these foods peanut butter, beans, tuna, beans, oh, and more beans. So please, give something other than beans! If someone needs a donation, they most like are getting state aid which provides the with unlimited beans and peanut butter lol
You can donate things like canned chicken, or even canned salmon.
Canned fruit is also great, and a special treat.
@casheroo and @aprilsimnel ; You guys make me feel better. I thought I would be the only one to admit that I had accepted this type of charity in the past. Lurve!
Yeah, we ate them when I was growing up on welfare too.
Vegetable, Minestrone soups (like Progresso’s thick ones)
Ravioli
Corned Beef Hash
Chili & Beans
Tamales
Grape leaf dolma
I think the least processed with the most nutrition and protein. If I could choose, I would donate a lot of dried beans and rice. If it must be only canned goods, then canned Tuna or other tinned, minimally processed meats (Spam, ham, etc.)
Minimally processed Spam?
Spam isn’t over-processed. It does have too many nitrates, though.
If it’s in your budget, take 5 or 10 cans.
If you have a budget grocery store nearby, you can get more bang for your buck. In my area, Aldi can almost double my purchase power.
As casheroo points out, donations are heavy on beans, so canned fruit with pull tabs (not everybody has a can opener) could give someone a welcome treat.
You can get tomato sauces in plastic jars. Sometimes Kroger will have them 10 items for $10. Not a bad deal.
Things that are high protein/high fiber are a good call. Beenie Weenies (while not the healthiest) is a good choice and we loved it when we received it from a food bank. Tons of calories and fiber. Canned chicken is a great call (god I got sick of tuna). Beef stew is great as well.
I will say that with our economy right now, many people who don’t qualify for government assistance are needing food banks to help fill the gaps. So giving something, anything at all, is a commendable thing. So many people are finding themselves without the ability to provide for their families right now. I know our local food banks are screaming out for help this year.
I always incude Chef Boyardee [sp] cans-my kids thought they were a treat.
I always donate canned fruit and vegetables, because folks in our area tend to have wicked high rates of diabetes and obesity in part because they eat too much fat and meat.
When I was a kid there were times when we ate government cheese, peanut butter from giant metal cans, and lots and lots of Spam. However, my mom always had a garden so we had plenty of fruit and veg. She also had a pressure cooker and a seemingly endless supply of Ball and Mason jars for canning.
Wow….this Q is mucho more interesting than I thought it would be! I have, once again, been enlightened. I’m serious. I also feel guilty because yeah. I’ve always given out…tomato sauce or cream of mushroom soup, stuff I probably won’t be using any time soon, while jealously guarding my tuna and refried beans. I’ll do moy better next time.
@boffin LOL! I do believe I’ve given that away myself!
I never buy canned spinach under any circumstances, not even to give away!
Personally, I like canned spinach!
Bless all of you for answering. Getting a case of fruit cocktail at Costco costs very little, and can really brighten someones day. The food banks also take cash donations.
This is the kind of question I started using Fluther for.
@filmfann You can have mine! Frow up!! Well, this was quite educational!
I really think I have only seen canned spinach on Popeye! If I can’t find good fresh spinach, frozen’s not so terrible, but I have never considered canned.
What color is canned spinach? I have a vision of that green peas get to be.
@pdworkin mebe I could put canned spinach on my tamale’s?? frow up
@faye According to Popeye, it’s green….the color of rotting green peas…
It is a darker version of that same nasty canned-pea green. It looks like something a Klingon would enjoy, if it moved on the plate a bit.
That link didn’t go anywhere, but this is canned spinach laid bare. Combine it with this and you get a dish fit for a Klingon warrior.
And this is the real stuff.
Cannes Spinach has tentacles? You sure that isn’t the Japanese kind?
Thank you everyone for answering. I went out to the store earlier today and got a few cans of corn and green beans, some cans of soup, a package of fruit cocktails, and some peanut butter. I’m hoping that will be good. Thanks again. =]
@Val123 – Actually they are pretty good as long as you clean all the mucus off and remove the digestive gland before cooking them. The last paragraph of the first question on this page tells you how to do that, and then you can get this book and go to town.
Hey, it’s free protein!
@Darwin NO!!!! (Insert temper tantrum!!)
@Val123 – You must not ever have been a starving graduate student.
refried beans,corn,green beans,and carrots.
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