I'd rather not kill people with "kindness"
April 20, 2022 8:33 PM Subscribe
Does anyone know of food relief orgs that donate actually nutritious food (vegetables, quality protein , whole grains, etc) to people?
If I see one more food relief org that has "sugar, flour, and cooking oil" at the top of their purchase list, I'm going to plotz. I don't think quantity always tops quality, and I think that default Western ignorance about decent nutrition is largely to blame. A month's supply of lentils or other pulses along with some root vegetables and a non-industrial seed oil would be a decent, cheap alternative. There are many other affordable options.
If you've found a food relief org that does things different, please post.
What I don't want to see in comments here is how wrongheaded I'm being. Please answer the question as asked. Sugar and flour are fine, very short term. More than a couple of weeks on that: nope, I'm never going to enable it. I will find a clean drinking water relief org instead. (Going to do that now as a preferential option tbh.)
If I see one more food relief org that has "sugar, flour, and cooking oil" at the top of their purchase list, I'm going to plotz. I don't think quantity always tops quality, and I think that default Western ignorance about decent nutrition is largely to blame. A month's supply of lentils or other pulses along with some root vegetables and a non-industrial seed oil would be a decent, cheap alternative. There are many other affordable options.
If you've found a food relief org that does things different, please post.
What I don't want to see in comments here is how wrongheaded I'm being. Please answer the question as asked. Sugar and flour are fine, very short term. More than a couple of weeks on that: nope, I'm never going to enable it. I will find a clean drinking water relief org instead. (Going to do that now as a preferential option tbh.)
Second Harvest, at least from the times I volunteered, receives bulk donations of older produce that the volunteers sort the good stuff out of - which means that they're handing out fresh fruit and veg.
I have no insight into the bought goods side of things, but the linked page suggests they're being thoughtful about it.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 9:02 PM on April 20, 2022 [3 favorites]
I have no insight into the bought goods side of things, but the linked page suggests they're being thoughtful about it.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 9:02 PM on April 20, 2022 [3 favorites]
Heifer works with people to provide care and training for livestock as well as the livestock itself, and clean water and education, to promote long term stability and self sustaining nutrition. I’m not sure it’s considered a “food relief org” though.
posted by Mizu at 9:06 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Mizu at 9:06 PM on April 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
There's a wide variety of community gardens and related groups dedicated to fighting food insecurity by distributing seeds, tools, knowledge and space to grow food, as well as redistributing produce.
You probably have one in your area that would accept your time or money or tools.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:36 PM on April 20, 2022 [3 favorites]
You probably have one in your area that would accept your time or money or tools.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:36 PM on April 20, 2022 [3 favorites]
my local food bank gives out fresh fruit as part of its regular menu. Your local one might too; call and ask.
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:45 PM on April 20, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by fingersandtoes at 9:45 PM on April 20, 2022 [3 favorites]
Every local food pantry I've ever worked with, including the one I receive food from now, strive to provide the best variety they can. I don't know about your local orgs, but I can't imagine any of ours turning a donation of anything reasonable away. Since the pandemic started they've been bringing boxes of mixed goods to people's cars, but their normal procedure is to let people come in and take what they're interested in (with restrictions on how many of any one item each family can take).
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:02 PM on April 20, 2022 [12 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:02 PM on April 20, 2022 [12 favorites]
In my area, we have FoodShare (Which also pays people $75 per job interview.) It’s more about addressing food inequity than a traditional food bank and has a coop model.
Echoing the above that every food bank I’ve volunteered with has had pulses and whole grains as well as in many cases fresh items. You can also look hyper-locally. During the initial Covid lockdown my super local food bank coordinated the donation of extra fridges and a local church donated space/power to redistribute & deliver fresh food from local restaurants, and some of that infrastructure has stayed in place. (There were always pulses and whole grains and some fresh things though.)
Community Food Centres Canada has another way to go up here. You’ll notice food education and community kitchens on there. Food equity is complex and cultural, stretching out past food insecurity.
posted by warriorqueen at 2:23 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Echoing the above that every food bank I’ve volunteered with has had pulses and whole grains as well as in many cases fresh items. You can also look hyper-locally. During the initial Covid lockdown my super local food bank coordinated the donation of extra fridges and a local church donated space/power to redistribute & deliver fresh food from local restaurants, and some of that infrastructure has stayed in place. (There were always pulses and whole grains and some fresh things though.)
Community Food Centres Canada has another way to go up here. You’ll notice food education and community kitchens on there. Food equity is complex and cultural, stretching out past food insecurity.
posted by warriorqueen at 2:23 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
I packed boxes for Philabundance early in the pandemic and there was a lot of fresh vegetables that had some durability (sweet potatoes or squash vs greens) and cans and beans. It varied by what was donated each week. I actually don't remember any flour or sugar. I got the sense they tried to put together boxes with ingredients that would work together and be flexible for different food traditions, but that was clearly a challenge. I didn't see the pickup side so don't know how well received the ingredients were.
posted by sepviva at 3:24 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by sepviva at 3:24 AM on April 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
World Central Kitchen works with local chefs and local food systems to provide food in crisis areas all over the world.
posted by rockindata at 3:40 AM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by rockindata at 3:40 AM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
Just so I'm clear - are you talking about food relief organisations that work in places affected by famine, war, disasters and other humanitarian emergencies?
posted by some little punk in a rocket at 3:57 AM on April 21, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by some little punk in a rocket at 3:57 AM on April 21, 2022 [9 favorites]
Don't really know if this fits for you, but we have Carversville Farm.
https://carversvillefarm.org
posted by james33 at 4:03 AM on April 21, 2022
https://carversvillefarm.org
posted by james33 at 4:03 AM on April 21, 2022
If you don't mind supporting vegan organizations, a lot of these that deal with food relief are focused on healthful food. Also, POC are much more likely to be lactose intolerant, and a lot of Black vegans consider the emphasis on dairy in food relief and US government programs to be a form of institutional racism.
The Food Empowerment Project works with local groups to increase access to healthy foods. This page on the AfroVegan Society website lists some organizations that work on food insecurity while focusing on healthy foods.
posted by FencingGal at 4:43 AM on April 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
The Food Empowerment Project works with local groups to increase access to healthy foods. This page on the AfroVegan Society website lists some organizations that work on food insecurity while focusing on healthy foods.
posted by FencingGal at 4:43 AM on April 21, 2022 [3 favorites]
In many parts of the US, Food Not Bombs distributes donated typically-fresh produce to any and all comers.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 4:50 AM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 4:50 AM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
I've worked with Food Not Bombs before. They serve vegetarian and/or vegan meals and ingredients at food shares. They focus on sourcing from food that would otherwise be discarded due to for example supermarket waste. In practice - at least at the chapter I volunteered with - this meant a lot of fresh fruits, vegetables, etc because a lot of that type of stuff was getting tossed for purely cosmetic reasons.
It was something that clicked with me because at one point I did that on an individual level to save money. A local store sold "undesirable" fruit/veg for some nominal fee ($0.05 for as much as you can fit into this box kinda thing) and I was astonished at the quality of fresh food they were throwing out.
posted by ToddBurson at 4:52 AM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
It was something that clicked with me because at one point I did that on an individual level to save money. A local store sold "undesirable" fruit/veg for some nominal fee ($0.05 for as much as you can fit into this box kinda thing) and I was astonished at the quality of fresh food they were throwing out.
posted by ToddBurson at 4:52 AM on April 21, 2022 [4 favorites]
Nting Food Not Bombs. The SF Bay area folks I've interacted with were all incredibly thoughtful people doing great work. And the food is really good.
Locally to me, the Lakeview Pantry in Chicago seems to be doing good work. They do go out of their way to give people food they'll actually use, which isn't always what a dietician would suggest. The Woodlawn Market Box Mutual Aid Program, also in Chicago, is scrappier and probably needs donations more. They seem cool and are out in the street and visible in a good way.
posted by eotvos at 6:31 AM on April 21, 2022
Locally to me, the Lakeview Pantry in Chicago seems to be doing good work. They do go out of their way to give people food they'll actually use, which isn't always what a dietician would suggest. The Woodlawn Market Box Mutual Aid Program, also in Chicago, is scrappier and probably needs donations more. They seem cool and are out in the street and visible in a good way.
posted by eotvos at 6:31 AM on April 21, 2022
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https://mcc.org/get-involved/canning
posted by aetg at 8:48 PM on April 20, 2022