Food Banks Struggle with Unusable Items

While food banks work to provide meals and supplies for those in need, the perishable timeline on many of the donated items presents a constant problem.

America's Second Harvest Food Bank annually distributes nearly two billion pounds of donated food and grocery products. These items go to support over 50,000 charitable organizations including food pantries, soup kitchens and emergency shelters.

"A lot of these people, these families, are struggling," Marc Sutherland, Resource Development Director for the Second Harvest Food Bank in Tampa, said. "They have to make a decision between paying the rent or buying food."

The United States Department of Agriculture reported that 88 percent of American households had been food secure throughout the entire year of 2004.

Items from the food banks go to help organizations like Christlike Ministries, an outreach program that helps the needy in the Tampa area. The group's work includes rehabilitation and introducing its members into the workforce as construction workers and laborers.

"Our goal is to give them more than just food," Priscilla Grimes said of ministry. "When you don't have any help, it's tough."

Despite this, food bank workers and volunteers have to contend with expired items on a regular basis. Sutherland said that, in addition to the perishable produce delivered to their warehouse, 20 percent of the total items have to be thrown away once they arrive.

"We get a lot of stuff. We go in knowing that about 20 percent of it is going in the garbage," Sutherland said.

Donated items do not always arrive in mint condition. Canned food can be crushed, missing labels or have broken freshness seals, making them unsafe for distribution. Even items donated from grocery stores can be wilted and been expired for over a year.

Sutherland added that perishable items can be a challenge to move based on their demand; a pallet of watercress would be harder to deliver than a pallet of bananas, as the bananas would be in higher demand.

Publix spokesperson Anne Hendricks said Publix would not donate rotten food to any organization.

"We will never give out expired food," Hendricks said, adding that some of the donated items do go past a sell-by date.

A sell-by date serves as the point which the food should be sold. The date gives a customer a week or two before the food becomes expired.

"Food banks will request food at or by the sell-by date," Hendricks said, adding that Publix works with Second Harvest food banks in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and South Carolina. "At the end of the day you're still doing what you can."

When asked what the tax write-off of the donations would be, Hendricks said it would not be equal to the items donated. "We give because it's the right thing to do."

The Second Harvest of Tampa Bay alone disposed of 388,000 lbs. of trash in the first quarter of 2006. The food bank also spends about $3,000 a month in trash disposal.

"Some loads are better. We take the good with the bad," Sutherland said, pointing out the Tampa food bank salvaged 540,000 lbs. of food in the last quarter. "Look how much good comes out of it."