I usually throw in that sort of thing the spam excetera but I always add some kind of vegetarian one and so on because a lot of my friends mentioned when they volunteered at the food bank that the vegetarians were always asking and hardly getting ready made meals.

I'm pretty sure vegans are even harder to help.

I always throw in a few cans of cat and dog food as a lot of the street people here have pets.

The food Bank people usually tell me they want money as they can get way more food for the same dollars as us. I like to do both.

We dropped off food at our local food bank last month. They requested peanut butter, pasta, canned beef stew, canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, tuna and paper products.

We're due to make another drop off soon - I'll look for some of the items you mentioned too.

Some times it is not the ease of fixing something but the lack of having utilities to fix it. A group I belonged to did the turkey dinner one year. Several of the homes did not have electricity and one heated by a wood burning stove which had a pot with something cooking in it.

Feminine Hygiene products are needed at all times. Not something that in most states you can purchase using an EBT card.

The other items they mentioned were mixed vegetables, pancake mix, yams, milk and peanut butter.

A local Scout did a food drive, leaving flyers and bags on people's doorsteps. Good to see kids helping.

Our food bank has a large garden manned by volunteers, producing 3,000 or 4,000 lbs of fresh produce a year, which is available to those getting food. Many of them don't have their own vehicle, so can't get to a grocery store easily. I like that they give fresh, organic produce. A guy last week brought in boxes of cucumbers from his garden and they went out the door in a flash!

Food banks also take pet food and personal items which are greatly needed especially for women. Windsor Essex had a community wide food drive on June 27 which filled 3 arenas plus more. They called it the June 27th Miracle and the community raised 2 million pounds of food. https://windsorstar.com/news/local-news/it-truly-was-a-miracle-more-than-2000000-lb-of-food

Our local food bank always needs pet food. Many seniors who depend on their pets for company have a hard time affording that. Canned goods are popular here as well, as are pasta and rice and eggs.

The post offices in this county do food drives around Thanksgiving and Christmas, but with all the trump admin cutbacks that likely won't happen this year. I hope we private citizens will be able to pick up the slack and donate directly.

It's good that you asked what they need/want. I always feel good about giving things like peanut butter and tuna as they don't require refrigeration and they are protein. Other things I think are good are oatmeal(obv needs heating but it's hearty) and cereal.

Mystical Manns, that sounds like a great idea. I do have an overabundance of winter squash that I'll probably take to the food bank when they're ready. I didn't think about pet food.

I know cereal is also a very popular item...

our church has been collecting foodstuffs every sun afternoon, then we take it to the local food bank. Amazingly, we usually take in more cash for the food bank every week than we used to take in in offerings. We did themed offerings for awhile, now it's pot luck. Canned items - of which there is a shortage [metal prices/import fees/factory slowdowns blah blah blah] - are especially sought after, they say.

Why would you buy food at grocery store prices when you can give money to the food bank -- which gets a discount on their purchases? Just donate the money.

Our Dollar Tree has tons of Manwich, Vienna Sausages, Tuna, Ravioli. You might

consider shopping there and dropping it off yourself...?

I think it would be better to just give some money if a person wishes to donate to a food bank.

The food bank that is nearest to me will not take garden stuff but will allow it to be placed outside for clients to take. I was told it was both a liability and sanitary issue. I did wonder if since it was only open one day a week if it was more an inability to store.

The local food bank is our company's main charity. The director told us that because they purchase in bulk, they can actually feed more families with cash donations than can foods.

I don't tend to check around at our local banks to see what's needed. Typically our area has several very good drives through the year. Usually sponsored in conjunction with the local radio station network.

There's a couple "fill the bus" food drives, people can drop off food, buy pre-made bags/boxes for donating... Usually at grocery stores. A couple of "pharmacy/hygene" drives set up similar at local pharmacies. 2-3 kids drives for stuff like warm winter gear, school supplies and toys. A couple "pillow programs" that are for stocking up foster care kids with their own things and help for if they age out of the system. Pet care drives and a smattering of church drives too.

I'm fortunate in that drives and donations are made easy for folks around here.

Do you all think things are getting worse in your area? I have no idea. I don't see any news reports about this in the surrounding communities and none in our local paper. The food bank's website does say they normally feed about 1000 families in the area. Our county population is around 22,600 as of 2018. Seems like a lot of hungry families for such a small area. I also don't know when the website was updated so not sure this is before or after the pandemic and all the newly unemployed.

Well, was going to have a delivery made to the food bank from Walmart but it won't accept a different address than my own. I guess I'll just go shopping and drop it off before work instead. I have been in stores a couple times but would rather avoid it.

Our's is over run with food of all sorts. No one is coming. The government is giving people enough money it would seem. We just began a bus to take food to small towns around us just to get rid if some of it.

Chisue, not sure that is true here. It might be but when talking to the two ladies at our food bank they never mentioned that. I would think they would since I mentioned having one of the grocery stores deliver to them. I ended up going to Save A Lot last night an hour before they closed so I wouldn't run into a lot of people. Then I just had a delivery from Kroger to my garage door so all I would have to do is open my door and put it in the trunk. I thought about picking it up curbside but I've never done that and don't even know where you do that at our Kroger store plus it's my last day of vacation week and don't feel like going out.

I saw no empty shelves at Save A Lot so that's good. I was worried they would have a limit on items but they didn't. I still didn't take more than 10 items each.

Kath -- Sorry for *assuming* all food banks are like the ones we support.

We give to the Chicago Food Bank and the Northern Illinois Food Bank. They have a lot of expenses beyond just the food -- rent, containers, storage, freezers, maintenance, transporting donations from stores and restaurants.

Our media is full of pleas for gifts to food banks, where a lot of the needy are Seniors and children. One close to me is overwhelmed with vets and their families. Pathetic that our government can't do better. If anyone shouldn't need *charity*...

I'm glad so many at the KT are helping.