I love the little free pantry library things, but please remember that canned foods are hard for a lot of people for a lot of reasons, and if you are going to stock cans, stick to ones with pop tabs.
Please remember the varied needs of the real people experiencing food insecurity.
Can't do cans in our area, would freeze. But did buy a bunch of $10 Dollar Tree cards and handed out to people in the mall area around the store. Picked out single moms with kids, asked mom "can I give your kid something?, then handed the card to the kid"
Also, frankly? Your small pantry is not likely to supply everything people need, especially families. Consider donating money to a food bank as well.
Do remember things like protein bars, dried fruit, things you would actually want to eat. Poor people shouldn’t have to subsist on gruel alone.
One item I like to include is pesto. A small jar can add a huge amount of flavor to several dishes. Will need to be refrigerated after opened, so will not work for every situation.
Also remember female hygiene products.
I was at a discount store that had can openers for 50 cents. I bought a dozen or so and left them in a food pantry box. They were gone in a day.
Good advice
Free senior brown bags are all canned goods and beans, second rate horrible shit the stores can't sell. They should include a can opener. I cannot digest beans. And that's about all they offer. Grateful, but it doesn't work for us all.
It's cool/cold here, so I leave some margarine and powdered milk packets, for the mac & cheese or rice-a-roni etc that people might already have. Also Period Products.
Thank you! I shop for two groups: families and elderly/disabled folks. A family of 5 might appreciate a bag of rice. A disabled vet in a wheelchair might prefer the individual portions in microwave cups. And donating money to food banks goes farther!
OMG THANKYOU!! No one seems to consider it.
LPT 4 any1 stuck w/a regular can instead of a pop-top. AGGRESSIVELY rub the bottom of the can back & forth over concrete 4 about 2 minutes. The aluminum will come apart enough 2 stick w/a pocket knife allowing you 2 peel it open to get the food out.
Also consider people who can't store or heat food. Try including granola or protein bars, individually packaged snacks, juice boxes, etc.
yeah, i've been adding things to a little free pantry on my walks. anything i leave gets taken right away, but the 6 or so cans of green beans in there just stay. who wants canned green beans? you probably burn more calories preparing them than you get from eating them and they are gross
You can also order a bunch of p-38's for cheap to stock your library with. I lived on the streets for a number of years and everyone had them because they are indispensable.
