The dos and don'ts of donating food around the holidays

At the Harvest Manitoba head office in Winnipeg, there's a shelf displaying some of the most out-of-date items ever donated — places of (dis)honour, if you will. "I think the oldest thing is spices from 1953," said Colleen McVarish, the organization's director of partnerships. 

McVarish suspects many items come from families cleaning out the kitchens of a loved one they've lost. "Everybody's heart is in the right place," she said. "But if you wouldn't put it in your own kitchen cupboard, we're not going to put it in our families' [cupboards]."

So vintage spices (or vintage anything, really) are a definite don't when donating over the holidays. But there are plenty of dos when it comes to supporting the nearly 23 per cent of Canadians living in food-insecure households. Make sure your donation is as helpful as possible with these tips.  

Donation dos 

Start with non-perishables. Shelf-stable, nutritionally dense items like peanut butter, tuna and canned beans tend to be at the top of every food bank's wish list. Most organizations will also have a list of their most-needed foods on their websites, including whether they accept things like baked goods or fresh fruit.

But don't stop at the basics. As the Parkdale Community Food Bank in Toronto points out in its "Rarely Donated Items" series, sauces, fresh spices, condiments and oils are always welcome and can make cooking with limited resources more delicious. Add what you can to your grocery list and stock up when those items are on sale.

Check the condition of your donations. If you're donating items from your cupboard, make sure you double-check the expiration date and overall quality to save the food bank sorters time. Slightly dented cans are fine, but big dents or bulging tins are not. You can check the Food Banks Canada website to see if your item is safe to donate. 

Consider a financial donation. Money is always hugely useful because food banks can stretch those dollars further than you can, thanks to their purchasing power and relationships with retailers and food producers. The organizations can also make sure they're buying food tailored to the needs of their local community. 

"So whether that's culturally appropriate foods, whether that's perishable foods like dairy or fruits and veg or proteins, it allows the food bank to ensure they're offering a diversity of products that meet community needs," said Kirstin Beardsley, CEO of Food Banks Canada. Financial contributions also go toward fuel and operating costs to transport the food to where it's most needed, said McVarish, including remote communities. 

Make it part of your gifting. Does your dad really need another set of golf balls? Food banks welcome one-time or monthly donations, and you can make them in someone else's name.

Volunteer your time. McVarish sees lots of corporate groups and individuals wanting to volunteer their time during the holiday season, and people are encouraged to sign up for shifts throughout the year as well. The 50,000 Manitobans who rely on Harvest food banks don't go away in January, she said. "They're still there in June."

Advocate for policy change. "It's a really tough time for food banks, and so we need to make these issues prominent," said Beardsley. "We know folks are not always in a position to give. And so a great way to give is to lend your voice to the cause." She points to a petition calling on the federal government to introduce a "Groceries and Essentials Benefit" as a way of getting money into people's pockets quickly. "It is targeted at low-income folks, and it's to help them pay for essentials like housing and groceries."

Explore other grassroots options. Most communities have mutual aid groups that rely on people coming together to fight food insecurity. Community fridges, for example, which are located across Canada and overseen by volunteers, operate on a "take what you need, leave what you can" approach, allowing neighbours to leave food in fridges and pantries for one another. The initiative's guiding principle is: "If you wouldn't eat it, don't leave it."

Donation don'ts

Avoid glass containers. If a glass jar breaks in a family's hamper, it can ruin all of their food, said McVarish.

Don't view it as an opportunity to clean out your pantry. Donating to a food bank shouldn't be seen as an excuse to get rid of the questionable things in your cupboard. The goal is to stock food banks with the kind of food we'd be proud to have anyone in the community eating, said Beardsley. "If it's not something that you think you would want to eat … then it's likely not something that is acceptable to donate."

Don't forget about the food bank when the holidays are over. "We're very grateful for the support of people in this country, and we often see a huge boost in support around the holiday season," said Beardsley. But she encourages people to think about how their support could be a year-round commitment. "Hunger doesn't take a holiday."