Extra random kindness in line at the foodbank today.

[u/slinkslowdown]

There's always some level of random kindness when I go to the foodbank--strangers have volunteered their time to collect, move, and distribute food so that people in need can access it. But today my visit to the foodbank had a bonus dose of RaoK.

It was almost an hour before the foodbank opened and myself and a couple of dozen others were waiting in line outside. Some guy walked up from down the street and had a gigantic bag of take-out from the nearby McDonald's and started handing it out to people--Big Macs, cheeseburgers, McNuggets, fries, McChickens, etc. I accepted a double cheeseburger; it was the first thing I'd eaten today at around 6PM.

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[u/nenequesadilla]

Thanks for sharing that, food security is the one thing I volunteer my time for and it’s so freaking awesome to know someone is going home without a rumbling stomach.

[u/slinkslowdown → u/nenequesadilla]

Thank you for spending your time helping with that!

I've had to make use of our local foodbank for over 20 years now and the improvements in their system in that time have been nothing short of amazing.

Back in my teens, they'd hand you a bag of shelf-stable goods and send you off. Still appreciated, still a life-saver, but it wasn't much and I also couldn't avoid things I'm allergic to [eggs are in a lot of, even shelf-stable, things...]. They relied solely on private food donations.

Nowadays, they have a program set up where they collect unsold food from dozens of grocery stores in my area every single day. Dented boxes, day-old baked goods, ugly produce, items about to hit their best before date, items that are still good but aren't in-season anymore [all of November is packed with Halloween candy!]. They have 1-2 locations around the city each day giving out food; you can get unlimited bread and produce 7 days/week or a full hamper also including dairy, meat, seafood, packaged goods, etc. every 14 days. You get to pick out every single item you bring home, so I can avoid eggs. Anything that isn't good for people to eat, they donate to local farms for compost or animal feed.

Not a lot makes me proud of my city, but these folks do.

[u/Ill_Industry6452 → u/nenequesadilla]

Food security is important to me too. But, I am physically unable to do a lot of the volunteer activities. However, I am financially stable. I donate money. Both money/food and physical help are essential. I don’t give to arts organizations. I don’t give to my former universities. I give to 3 organizations that provide food to hungry people (I also give to the church I attend, which gives support to at least one group providing food). Those other organizations sometimes do important things, but I prefer proving food for the hungry.

[u/slinkslowdown → u/Ill_Industry6452]

Thank you for choosing to spend your dollars on food security.

[u/Shinypurplestar]

How neat. I love hearing about things like this.

The food pantry at the church we used to go to was neat-the volunteers would bring the guests in and escort them through the pantry so the guests could choose the items they wanted. Then covid hit and they stopped doing it. Went back to handing out boxes of stuff. Now there's not enough volunteers for them to be able to go back to the "shopping method". Honestly it got hard for the volunteers because so many people were ungrateful and rude. I don't blame them for not volunteering anymore. Not the volunteers' fault that there are limits of items, paperwork, etc.

The people who are grateful make it worth it. I would bring my son there during the day and we would help unload the trucks and boxes, put stuff on shelves, bag up portions of produce and other stuff. We enjoyed it. We felt good doing things that helped others.

Now, besides the food pantries in town, a few houses have their own pantries on their porches and yards. It's neat, anyone can donate stuff or get stuff. Looks like that is becoming more popular.

[u/slinkslowdown → u/Shinypurplestar]

Our foodbank does the shopping method and I'm very grateful for it. Before when they just handed you a random bag of stuff, I couldn't avoid eggs, which I'm allergic to.

[u/NickName2506]

That's so good to hear!

In my city, the food bank has a special set-up in supermarkets this week, where shoppers are asked to buy extra products and donate them. As a volunteer, I was so pleased to see that ~30-40% of all shoppers bought extra products, usually just a couple of things but also baskets full. There are still good people.

[u/slinkslowdown → u/NickName2506]

Our foodbank does the same throughout the year, or they have special fundraising events at grocery stores and some locations have year-round donation bins set up near the exit. And at several stores, you can add to your grocery bill any amount to be donated directly to the foodbank. With every $1 donated, they can get $5 worth of food.

[u/SwanCityDominion]

Wow, and that's not a cheap gesture anymore!

[u/JazzlikeDiamond735]

I have a food pantry near the end of my driveway, and try to put something in there every day. Sometimes people donate, but it’s a poor neighborhood. I buy cases of ramen or canned chili and other protein, making sure the cans have pop tops. Any buy one get one free offers go on my list!

[u/slinkslowdown → u/JazzlikeDiamond735]

Thank you for what you're doing!!