@Mame,
Quote:But as I said, I don't see the other grocery chains donating, either.
Other than the supermarket I mentioned to you, I'm not sure whether the other large supermarkets near me do or do not donate food. The one I mentioned is a local supermarket chain and, in all their advertising, they stress their commitment to the local communities in this area. And they have signs in the store, in their bakery department for instance, that you can be sure of freshness with fresh baked items because they are all replaced daily with all unsold items donated to the local food bank every night, and I've seen the food packed up at night. I've never seen signs like that in the other supermarkets near me, which are part of a multi-state chain. Maybe they also donate and I'm just not aware of it.
The food network around here is pretty good about strong arming restaurants and stores to donate to them and about publicizing their need for donations from the public. So I'd be surprised if they weren't getting some sort of food from most of the supermarkets.
It does sound like Safeway is doing quite a bit in the way of donating. Maybe the food banks can only use certain types of foods--things soup kitchens can use immediately in preparing meals, or non perishables they can store for later, and items the food banks can offer to people to take home and use in their own meal preparations. Something like already prepared sandwiches, or already prepared individual entrées, that supermarkets have, might not fit into either category, and those things need refrigeration and are very perishable. Things like that might wind up getting tossed out because it's already prepared food and I'm not sure whether the food banks would give that to people to take home, and soup kitchens might not be able to use it either. I just don't know.
Quote:
THEY don't make any mention about all the food thrown away.
What sort of stuff do you see being thrown away? Do you have any suggestions about how it could be used instead of wasted? Would the local food bank want to know about it?
Once a year the U.S. Postal Service sponsors a food drive and the mail carriers will pick up any non perishable items you leave near your mailbox and they give it to the local food banks. Once a year is a drop in the bucket, but it reminds people of the problem of hunger and the need to donate.