Praise or criticism?

[inhawaii]

I sell a lot of food products.  When product expires or gets close to expiring,  of course i'll eat what i can, but rather than throw the rest away, i gather them up and take them to a area where the homeless are and give it to them. They always seem very appreciative. 

My family and friends have mixed feelings about this. Some praise me.  Some criticize me for "dumping expired food on the homeless". 

Anyone care to share their thoughts?

[hurryagain]

If the items are close to being expired, why not give it to the hungry homeless?

...better than them eating out of a trash can...or eating someone else's half eaten sandwich or plate lunch...or worse...ewww!

I just want the homeless to take care of the area in which they reside the most...

...but that is for another topic...🙄

[gwens*4saleitems*]

Just because there is an expiration date on a product, it doesn't mean that product will go bad that very day. It will eventually but not the exact date of expiry.
Even milk will last at least 4 and up to 10 days past the date.
You are doing a good thing. Don't let people make you feel any less.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Our local food pantry will accept expired food within a set of guidelines. When i asked about this they said that some out-dated food is still ok to eat. So expired foods can be donated. Not everyone knows this, but food items that are past their “best before” dates are accepted and appreciated at food donation stations and food banks across the country.

Federal law requires expiration dates for products like baby food, infant formula, and over-the-counter medication, for obvious reasons. But my local charity says many canned and boxed products are safe to eat long after the date on the container, and the shelf life of refrigerated and frozen foods can be extended if they are handled properly.

So i say Praise. Good on ya’ @inhawaii.

[mam98031]

I say praise.  And I bet the people you are giving the food to would also say that.  GOOD JOB!!!!

[m60driver]

Your nose knows best as to when food goes bad.  Food has expiration dates for a number of reasons.  Now the #1 underlying reason is that the manufacturer wants you to go out and  buy more of the product.  The other common reason is that the manufacturer can no longer guarantee the nutrition content 100% past the expiration date, usually by low single digit drops in nutritional value.   And no food is going to actually spoil within a short time of the expiration date.  So any sealed non-parishable food can usually be handed out or donated anywhere close to the expiration date, which is most often a "best if used by" date.  Milk is the only common exception as I have had milk go bad before the expiration date, but milk is easy to smell or just taste if it has gone bad.

[chapeau-noir]

I spent years eating expired food and I'm still here.

ETA: At one point in my young days I was homeless.

[mtgraves7984]

I just flashed on the Seinfeld episode, "TOP OF THE MUFFIN TO YOU!", and Elaine's leftover 'stumps'. Thanks!

I think you're doing a gallant thing. I vote 'Praise'!

[cynthealee2]

If we are talking a few days or even a week or so... have at.

If you are talking it expired in 2014 then maybe not so much 😉

As part of my brother's "rent" he brings home food they would have tossed from the Hospital Cafeteria.  Legally they are supposed to toss it... sat out to long on the line, the temp went a little to high or a little to low.... the Health Dept (or w/e does the inspections) get a littly pissy about it LOL.... but the food is perfectly fine  (not talking SPOILT food here like milk that sat on some table for 8 hours). And or food leftover at the end of the night, that they can't sell as leftovers the next day.

Well my kids were just a little too well fed as children and are picky little snits and won't eat most of it, if I TELL bro that he won't bring anything home and I do want some of it for us... so what he brings home my kids won't eat we take to a family we know... Mom of 5 2 live with her, Foodstamps may or may not come in that month, and has been homeless several times... THEY know what the word hungry means... so every other day we take it to her... they love it and NO one is getting sick.

BRO on the other hand would go off if he knew it was going to feed "those" people... so we just don't tell him 😉

[chapeau-noir]

And you know they ARE very appreciative.  There's a lot of myths about homelessness, but I can say that one of the first things to go is food - you end up making two days' food last for three days, then four days.  It's good work you're doing.

[a_c_green]

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@cynthealee2 wrote:

If we are talking a few days or even a week or so... have at.

If you are talking it expired in 2014 then maybe not so much 😉

Right. Even the manufacturers fudge the dates: they may be labeled as "SELL BY" or "BEST BEFORE," but if you're storing the food properly prior to donation, it's not like Instant Death will occur if someone opens the package a little later on.

How you define "a little later" would depend on exactly what food item we're talking about, but there's plenty of information out there about safe handling of any particular product; just Google it.

[bar-29368]

"expired date" in a lot of cases is just a Best By date. It doesn't mean they become toxic overnight.

[bar-29368]

When the zombie apocalypse arrive you won't care what the best by date is as long as it tastes & smells ok.

[chapeau-noir]

When the Zombie Apocalypse comes we'll just eat the slow ones.

[inhawaii]

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@mtgraves7984 wrote:

I just flashed on the Seinfeld episode, "TOP OF THE MUFFIN TO YOU!", and Elaine's leftover 'stumps'. Thanks!

I think you're doing a gallant thing. I vote 'Praise'!

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Huge Seifeld fan here.

Rebecca De Mornay : "Why don't you just drop off some chicken skins and lobster shells?"   LOL