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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] U.S. food banks, in a squeeze, tighten belts

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  • From: Liz <liz@allslash.org>
  • To: "E. E. Mitchamore Jr" <emitch@att.net>, Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] U.S. food banks, in a squeeze, tighten belts
  • Date: Sun, 02 Dec 2007 15:53:11 -0500

At 08:21 AM 12/2/2007, you wrote:
What in the world does this mean?:
 <snip>
 The wording would seem to mean that the demand for those products is very high.  Who is buying this "surplus" that, in the past, has been available ("to purchase"), to food banks?  Export?  To where?  Is this some of our trade deficit returning to cause problems for the less fortunate?

Much of what used to be given to food banks is going now to so-called "salvage" stores. I inspect grocery stores under a contract with the USDA, and I'm seeing a large increase in the number of salvage stores--the places that sell the cereal boxes with a crushed corner, the dinged up soup cans, etc.

Most of the time if any portion of a wrapped pallet is damaged, the entire pallet is refused. Stores don't want to pay warehouse personnel to sort through a pallet of cereal boxes to set aside any that are banged up. It's cheaper to just refuse the whole thing. Shipping companies have insurance to cover damage, so the shippers usually aren't out either. The broker would just donate the whole thing to the nearest food bank. Now they're selling them to salvage store owners. Same thing for non-perishables that are damaged after they get on the supermarket shelves. They used to be donated. Now they're often being sold to salvage stores.

There is also the surplus inventory after a food manufacturer stops producing that particular item. They don't want the name brand stores selling cereal or crackers or whatever that they aren't making any more. Those items used to be donated to food banks. Now they usually go to the salvage stores. The only good thing about that is that you can get huge savings if you don't mind minor damage. Some salvage store owners are picky about what they will buy--they'll take only surplus, for example, and not damaged goods. Others will take anything and you buy at your own risk.

Liz in SW VA
http://life-as-a-spectator-sport.com


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