With simple steps, you can make sure your donation is helpful.

1 – Not all food are acceptable, like for example unpleasant, unhealthy (bad for you) food or opened packages. We serve people with dignity and respect, so the food has to represent this too. Sometimes it is better to compost.

2 – Consider culture. We don’t eat the same foods.  Religious or cultural practices dictate that people need or can’t eat certain things. Take into account some of the main cultures of the people living in your community and include a few culturally relevant foods in your donation. Cooking is an important part of identity and tradition.

3 – Food is medicine. It is important that people struggling with food insecurity have access to nutritious food. There are lots of diet-linked diseases that can worsen chronic health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity etc. This can lead to more time out of work and reinforce the cycle of poverty and food insecurity.

4 – Food insecurity is a year-round problem. While most food donations occur during end-of-the-year holidays, food insecurity is also an issue during spring and summer. Contact your local food pantry during all seasons and check what is the need when they’re less likely to receive support.

5 – Re-consider food labels. Food that just part its date label is often still tasty and nutritious. Besides baby formula and food, date labels are just a manufacturer’s recommendation for when a food is at peak quality and freshness. See more.

6 – Sometimes donating money helps more. Sometimes a monetary donation goes further, enabling the program to fund what it most needs then and there. To pay the refrigeration bill, upkeeping infrastructure, the best way to help an organization is to talk to them.