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?

[7606dennis]

I see nothing wrong in giving items that are close to exceeding their sell by date to those in need.  However, you might wish to check with your legal advisor to be sure that you don't open yourself up to legal liability if a recipient claims that it caused them ill effects.  Alas!  Businesses must protect themselves.

[inhawaii]

My ex used to think that at 12 midight on the expiration date, the product turns to toxic poison.  😉

[luckythewinner]

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@inhawaii wrote:

Anyone care to share their thoughts?

If you keep your charity anonymous, you avoid these issues completely.  

[chapeau-noir]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@inhawaii wrote:

Anyone care to share their thoughts?

If you keep your charity anonymous, you avoid these issues completely.  

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So no asking an honest question?

[luckythewinner]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@inhawaii wrote:

Anyone care to share their thoughts?

If you keep your charity anonymous, you avoid these issues completely.  

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So no asking an honest question?

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Nothing in my post said "no asking an honest question". I simply offered an alternative. 

IMHO the OP got the only answer that mattered when he said the recipients were appreciative. 

[byrd69er]

The local dairy business down the road used to sell by date "expired" cheese (expired cheese?) for $0.10 per 8 oz.  Yowzaaa!

I loved that deal for about three months until corporate or NYS said that's a no no.

Expired cheese?

The bluer the better.

[bar-29368]

They've never heard of aged cheese?

[gracieallen01]

To me, it sounds like you are doing a good thing.

Considering that so many things have a shelf-life of months or years, I think it is really hard to be worried about something blowing up at 5 minutes after midnight of the expiration date.

[myboardid]

And maybe you should buy smaller quantities of those foods. Also use the eBay tool on your listings that allows you to offer slightly discounted prices if the buyer chooses 2, 3, or 4 of the item. But I bet you already do that. I hate to see you give away your profits.

[chapeau-noir]

There's a small order of monks here who collect expired and over-day-old items from several supermarkets and distribute it - they have an arrangement with the markets to do so and usually one of the employees will assist them in filling their boxes and sacks that they bring.  These are items that may get tossed out due to food handling laws, but are still perfectly good which they then distribute to the hungry.  Mostly fruits, veg and bakery items. They also make new items from old 'found objects' they see around - I once purchased a bike saddle from one of them - he had found a discarded saddle and a small piece of leather and did a skilful job of refurbing the saddle for a little money - I got a lot of miles out of it.  I can't remember their specific order - I just call them The Friars of the Sack because they remind me of the old mendicants of the middle ages.  People quietly doing good deeds.

[gracieallen01]

Can you imagine the 'State of the Landfills' if everything got tossed the minute it hit that magic time?  Seagulls (around here) wouldn't be the only ones fighting for standing room.

I may have known some of their 'associates', years ago, when I was up there.  They did good work, too.

[inhawaii]

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@myboardid wrote:
And maybe you should buy smaller quantities of those foods. Also use the eBay tool on your listings that allows you to offer slightly discounted prices if the buyer chooses 2, 3, or 4 of the item. But I bet you already do that. I hate to see you give away your profits.

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Good point.  I'm always trying to adjust stocking quantities and offer discounts when the product is getting close to expiring but no matter how hard i try, there is always some lost product (tax deductable).  That loss is factored in to my expenses. Sometimes selling food can be a pain in the butt.  

[cynthealee2]

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@7606dennis wrote:

I see nothing wrong in giving items that are close to exceeding their sell by date to those in need.  However, you might wish to check with your legal advisor to be sure that you don't open yourself up to legal liability if a recipient claims that it caused them ill effects.  Alas!  Businesses must protect themselves.

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While I agree, and why it drove me CRAZY at wal-mart to throw out food from the deli, bakery, and the like (they didn't want to be sued cause they couldn't guarantee that the peeps picking up the food would keep it "stored properly")  If OP is just taking food to where the homeless hang out and handing it out how they gonna know he's a business and not just some good doer handing out food that they could sue?

Honest question.

[gracieallen01]

But, one must keep in mind that no good deed goes unpunished.  😀

[gwzcomps]

I have a friend who occasionally gives me all the past best by dated snacks out of his vending machines. I love it. Granted I am a sucker for free food as long as it isn't bad.