Give the man some slack , this is clearly three raccoon in a trench coat what did we expect?
Canned goods are non-perishable. Used needles carry contaminate. One is useful, the other isn’t.
Umm… is this post edited or something. I’m seeing
Donating canned goods to food pantries is like donating needles and syringes to a cancer research organization
I don’t see the word “used” in it. So, it sounds like he’s saying donating medical supplies to an organization that does medical research?
To which I’d say yes both seem helpful to an organization that helps people in need.
To which I’d say yes both seem helpful to an organization that helps people in need.
But cash is much more universal and allows the cancer research organization to get exactly what they need rather then whatever needles people feel like donating. It’s the same thing with food pantries. You can donate 10 cans of vegetable soup, but if the food bank doesn’t need that at the time, you’ve just wasted your money on vegetable soup when you could have just donated cash.
I mean I guess, but if it’s an organization conducting medical research, I’d assume they already have all the syringes they’d need?
It would probably mean a little more like you’re thinking if OP said “donate syringes to clinics and ERs” or something.
I mean I guess a food bank would have food already as well… They are both one time use consumable supplies so, whether they have them or not, they are going to have to resupply at some point.
It sounds like you just hate poor people. They aren’t addicted to food, they need it to live. You’ll probably be surprised to learn that people starve when they dont get food.
This is a strange take. I never said poor people should starve. In fact, I think they deserve better then just canned food. Therefore I suggest donating cash instead of canned goods. That way the food bank can buy fresher foods.
Anyways, it seems like this statement definitely needed more explanation and context by me, which wasn’t possible when just posting it as a shower thought.
It definitely had “all poor people are addicts” connotations
Can I ask… how so?
Relating food that people need to needles to do drugs. To me, it conveyed that if you give these people food they will become like addicts.
Yeah, it’s early and my brain didn’t even register “cancer research org”. When I first read the title I thought you were equating people’s need to eat with drug abuse.
Sorry let me go donate a research paper to my nearest food pantry.
In what way?
Sorry, I made a comment on here now to hopefully clear things up
No worries, friend-o! I gotcha now. Cash is a better donation for both types of organization, I agree.
I mean, the pantries ask for canned goods, because they’re shelf stable, portable, safe.
Not sure where you think this is anything like used needles.
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canned goods are damn near the best donation to a food bank because they’re so shelf stable
Cash doesn’t expire
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Could you uh… elaborate a little?
A lot of people seem to be misinterpreting me here. I don’t want poor people to starve, nor do I want people to reuse needles. All I’m saying is that cash is a lot more universal and useful to food pantries than going to the store and buying cans is. Also many food pantries have deals with companies where they can get the food cheaper. So buying cans of food to donate is also a worse deal.
Edit: I understand donating cans of food your household isn’t going to use, but in some school food drives for instance, students get extra credit for donating cans, which encourages people to go out and buy cans.
people generally dont go out to buy new cans of food to donate, yes cash would be more efficient.
typicslly, they are cleaning out their home pantries of stuff they havent used. supermarkets donate tons of food that isnt selling fast enough vs. expiration dates.
I visit my local food pantry regularly, so I think I have some perspective.
There’s a state run mobile food pantry that makes up boxes of shelf stable foods to give out. It’s wonderful, but it’s always pretty much the same things every time-- canned corn, peas, tuna, fruit, spaghetti sauce, beans. They are clearly buying staples in bulk to give out, which makes sense for their process.
When I go to my local pantry, which gets a lot of direct donations, I can find a much wider variety of products. Canned chicken, nice soups, ravioli, artichokes, diced tomatoes, etc. It makes for a more varied and interesting diet.
Donating money is great and versatile, but donating canned goods can be valuable too.
