FOOD banks in Emporia and around the country are struggling to stock their shelves and people are stepping up to help. Organizations and businesses are holding drives, asking for donations of canned and packaged food. Tons of food are collected in the nation every day.
But not all of that food is fit to eat.
Every food pantry has seen its share of donations of outdated food.
In many cases, the donors are probably not even aware that the food is out of date. When children show up at the front door collecting canned goods for their school’s food drive, most people swing into frenzied action, ransacking cupboards for food that can be spared. There is no time to check the cans — the children are waiting.
Some of those cans of food — especially the ones from the back of the cupboard — are likely to be out of date.
There is a reason that preserved foods carry expiration dates. Preservation can keep food safe to eat for years, but no matter how carefully food is canned or packed, the clock continues to tick away. The first thing that happens to many canned foods is the loss of nutritional value. Vitamins break down and lose their potency. There comes a point — around the time of the expiration date — when the contents of a can may have no real food value at all.
A can of green beans a year or two out of date may look fine and even taste OK, but eating those beans won’t give much more benefit than chewing a lump of cardboard.
Donating out-of-date food is not charity at all — it is just an empty gesture.
Before the holiday food drives really gain steam, this weekend might be a good time to go through the kitchen cupboards and check the expiration dates on the cans and packages. Dump whatever is out of date — you won’t want to eat it, and neither will anybody else.
To restock, keep an eye on the grocery ads. Every week, there are excellent specials on some canned goods. Stock up while they are cheap. There will be plenty in the cupboard for the family, and some on hand to donate.
It never hurts to think ahead for charity.
Patrick S. Kelley
Editorial Page Editor