I volunteer at a food bank, and the company that sends us our food decides what we get. Last Tuesday they sent so much produce we could not fit it all into fridges. We were trying to give away cases of the food on Wednesday, but people were turning it down because they had no place to store a case of tomatoes, or cauliflower. This was what we had left after last Wednesday's morning give away. Not pictured the 5000lbs of watermelons, the 2500lbs of onions (those will last a lot longer).
The company that supplies us wants to move from sending shipments every other week, to once a month. This would cause even more no produce loss.
It is so frustrating to have all this food for it to go bad. Even if we got the same volume of produce, but there was variation in what it is we could give it away easier.
Edit: I posted this in a comment.
Because of bureaucracy we have to request this. If it is found out we are giving away the food to unapproved recipients we can lose all of our funding. If we give to unapproved recipients and they in turn give us prepared food to give out, that is okay.
Word got out that we were loading up my pickup with food and taking it to the homeless camps. I did get a number of them to start coming to the bank to get food. But it was easier when I could take stuff to them.
We are not allowed to simply give it out to anyone. This is not like a church pantry where all of the food is donated by the community and's parishioners. There is government funding, as well as private businesses, which I am guessing get their money back from the government for funding this. If we could simply give it to anyone we would not be in this situation.
People shouldn't downvote you, it's an educational experience.
Edit: Nah, fuck this guy.
People should be able to buy what they need, not be at the whims of what a capitalist entity dumps in a food bank.
Not everyone has the ability to store, prepare or even cook vegetables. Due to lack of utensils, food storage or even something to heat with. For many, vegetables would just be a liability and force you to choose between other necessities as you battle limited carrying capacity.
the downvotes are part of the education
You know, you're right.
Especially after the guy doubled and tripled down on his stupid comments.
Something something beggars can't be choosers.
Cooking cauliflower isn't rocket science. All you need is a pot and some water, and maybe a bit of salt. You can even eat it with your hands if you lack utensils. It's also good raw with some ranch dressing. You're making it sound a lot more complicated than it really is.
It's not cooking some cauliflower, it's cooking a shit ton of cauliflower. And storing it before and after cooking. Some places you only buy a couple days worth of food because you have a tiny place. And that's actually housed people, if you're unhoused you can't store shit.
Less than a block from the food bank is an old motel that has been turned into apartments. But they have no kitchens. The place is so old most of the rooms do not have microwaves. A lot of our "customers" live there.
I worked in the movie industry for a couple years, and I lived in motel rooms with microwaves. I hardly cooked anything because it was a pain in the ass.
Have you considered giving it away to your neighbors? That's what I would do if I was given more cauliflower than I know what to do with. Consider that not everyone even has the means to make it to the food bank.
And what if I don't end up using the whole box if it's going to rot away at the food bank anyways? I'd take the whole box if need be, and I'd eat as much as I physically can and try to give away the rest before it spoils. Literally all I'm hearing in this thread is "I don't want to eat cauliflower because chicken wings taste better".
"What's that? You're tired and just want some food? Fuck you here 3 boxes of cauliflower, now you have to distribute it too. Live in a sketchy neighborhood? Sounds like a you problem fuck you. Took the bus in? Fuck you you have to lug it on the bus and distribute it. Can't eat it? Fuck you now you have rotting food in your apartment that you have to clean out. What you don't want it? You fucks just want chicken wings fuck you. Beggars can't be choosers, so fuck you."
Until this reply I thought you were blissfully unaware. Now I know you're a prick.
"Oh boy, I can't take these free cauliflowers because I live in a sketchy neighborhood where people are just going to steal it."
Said no one, ever.
Wow you just keep doubling down. For the food I already pointed out several problems which you now ignore. As for neighbors, in some areas you want as little contact as you can get. The others are right you've had one hell of a blessed life and are a complete prick a about it. Ciao.
I have indeed, and quite a lot of that is thanks to not complaining about being given free food when I was broke.
Blessed as fuck. Damn, you're lucky. Never strolled through the ghetto, never been homeless, never had to carry fucking weight. You're soft as fuck. Not a man.
Says the guy who can't be bothered to cook some free fucking cauliflower.
I'm piling on. You haven't even had your heart broken! Did you even do outside? You're a fucking bubble boy, homie. A fucking comedy we laugh at.
Naive as fuck. How old are you? I literally take unrefridgerated veggies from my neighbor (so grateful. He just doesn't want to cook and barely sees it as food. That's fine. I can do it.) and make stew with damned near rotten vegetables every week. And, I have a refrigerator, a place to cook, a place to hang out, and don't have to confine my belongings to something I can carry while randomly getting kicked out of any area I'm just trying to exist in. You're either a propaganda plant, or fucking 12 years old. Grow up. Man up. Suck less. By the way, pizza places that precook their shit before it's ordered (like Little Caesars) are great places to dumpster dive after close of the business day. I've gone weeks on preservative-filled, pre-cooked pizza. Really helpful in a conservative state with no food banks you could hope to walk to without freezing to death.
You need to see this. I forgot to mention that, when you grow up poor, fruits and vegetables are a fucking luxury. Nothing beats the crunch you get from fresh vegetables. I love salad and I prefer most vegetables raw. Man, you've been so fucking sheltered.
If they’re a luxury, how do you explain people turning them down because they can’t be bothered to store them?
I've addressed this above:
Why are you like this? You've never actually been broke, or you wouldn't joke about this shit, and you certainly wouldn't downplay the logistics of impoverished living.
So, seriously, why? Just having fun?
If OP could get the food to the people who absolutely want to eat the food, none of this would be a problem.
There is no shortage of people willing to eat cauliflower.
Never navigated beaurocracy, never slept outside, never fucked up enough to learn from your mistakes. You are such a fucking pussy. Go cry into your pillow and call your mommy, bitch.
Sounds like you've had a nice, pampered life, princess.
Sounds like you just don't want to eat your veggies, princess.
I like making stew. Great way to make something tasty with the veggies you have that are getting ready to go bad. In my apartment. Where I have a stove, a refrigerator, and a place to hang out while I cook. Being homeless (I'm no stranger), you gonna carry a fucking head if cabbage in your backpack? Fuck no. Protein, sugar, can't expire, doesn't need heat to eat it. That's what you want. You suck, bro. Keep thinking these bums are just too snobby for the food we're all so considerate to give away. Hey, maybe we can skip the part where they carry rotting veggies in their backpack in 100 degree whether, and just feed them compost? You're moralizing the actions of victims of systemic abuse while your morality ain't fucking nothin to snuff at. Justify anything you believe. I'll fucking wait.
Not everyone who goes to the food bank is homeless. Plenty of people these days can’t afford grocery store prices and have families to feed, and cauliflower is a healthy and nutritious vegetable that’s full of vitamins. But nooo, apparently it’s too much of a hassle to cook it.
Damn, you're a fucking idiot. Blah. Nobody is beyond redemption. Talk to somebody who loves you instead of trying to get somebody to agree with you on the fucking internet. You don't have friends here. Get off your computer and talk to somebody who cares about you and what you feel. You can snicker at the bums together, but this has nothing to do with the morality of the bums who don't affect you, and more to do with your primal need for love and social status. Chill with your loved ones and talk about what's on your mind. Specifically, what's bothering you.
You've just added like 10kg of carrying requirements to someone who likely has all their worldly possessions on their back.
And that's not even counting being forced to use gas for food instead of saving it for warmth on a freezing cold night.
Wow you didn't use a single brain cell considering that from any other perspective than your own with that comment.
Just wanted to confirm that, cause that is the vibe you seem to have purposely put out there.
I might be privileged enough to be able to afford to buy whatever food I want at the moment, but you can bet your ass that if I was broke and forced to go to the food bank, I'd be stoked AF to get a whole box of cauliflower for free, and I'd be eating it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
You'd be lucky to even have a gas stove, let alone a tent and blanket to sleep in.
Give me some ranch dressing and I'll eat a whole head of cauliflower raw. And the rest I'll use to throw at your idiot visage.
You suck so bad. Read. Feel it. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner on cauliflower and ranch? That's fucking cute. Go experience loss, and maybe you can play with the adults in the room.
Sure, if I was starving and there's nothing else available, why not? Cauliflower has a lot of vitamins, certainly not the worst thing you could eat. Snubbing your nose at that sounds like privilege to me.
Slime. Mold. Shit that is toxic. It's a storage issue. How do you not understand this? You take groceries home, right? You don't say, let's stop by a fucking roller rink before we throw our shit in the freezer. Might as well ask them to eat roadkill. It's protein, right? You gonna tell your daughter, "buck up. I just saw an armadillo on Grand. Why the fuck you whining?"