My neighborhood has a little free food pantry that I fill weekly. Problem is, I’ve been finding it difficult to provide a well-rounded variety of foods. Fresh fruit and veg are not allowed.
Any ideas for items I can stock? I try to keep each item under $2 to get the most bang for my buck.
My go-tos are:
*Rice.
*Oats.
*Beans, dried and canned (these usually go slowly)
*Baking mixes, flour, sugar, yeast.
*Canned veggies.
*Condensed soup.
*Oil.
*Evaporated milk.
*Condiments.
*Canned chicken, tuna, and salmon.
*Applesauce.
*Spices.
Thanks ahead of time for any ideas. Can’t seem to get the formatting working on mobile but you get the gist.
Evaporated milk is good, Dry Milk is also very useful. The Liter / Quart pre-measured packets are pretty easy to find on North America if you have access to a corpo super market or big box store.
Lentils and nuts is what I can think of.
I stocked lentils once and they sat for weeks. :( Nuts would be great but are pricey.
I stocked lentils once and they sat for weeks
random idea - could you make little “meal kit” type things for the less popular ingredients like these?
if someone has never cooked lentils before, and sees them in a free pantry, I can definitely understand why they wouldn’t be inclined to take them, they can be somewhat daunting at first.
but you could do something like bundle together a bag of lentils with a can of tomato paste and a jar of curry powder, with a printout of this recipe or a similar one, and someone would only need to add a couple of fresh veggies to complete the recipe.
Nuts would be great but are pricey.
is buying them in bulk and dividing them up into smaller portions an option? one of my go-to snacks are these cashews which are still on the pricey side, but less expensive than buying them in smaller packages.
Both awesome ideas! I’ve been thinking of doing birthday cake kits with box mix, icing, oil, and candles and they would just need eggs. Expanding that to lentil meal kits would be perfect. I can imagine that someone getting off of a long shift could just grab it and make a nice dinner without much thought.
I think I could make little packages of nuts. I’d need to figure out a way to seal them to prevent tampering.
nuts also go rancid, not exactly “non-perishable”
Sunflower seeds (good for any who have peanut allergies, plus they take longer to go rancid than nuts), raisin packs, maybe some sauces to go along with the spices? Soy sauce, vinegar, ketchup, and hot sauce will do a lot for food, plus maybe BBQ sauce.
Awesome ideas! Adding all of those to the list.
I have lots of rice and dried beans. Peanut butter is good too because it has a ton of energy and protein and doesn’t require a fridge. Jam with a high fruit content is healthy too and doesn’t need a fridge due to the sugar content.
Who are the main consumers of the food pantry? That will tell you a lot about what kinds of foods will or won’t work. If a person has a kitchen, for example, it’s a different situation than being on the street.
The vast majority are people living in low-income housing or halfway houses after rehab. There’s only one unhoused individual that I know of who uses it.
A lot of single parents and young adults, some elderly folks.
Spaghetti is pretty popular, maybe pasta and pre-made / canned pasta sauces would be welcome additions? I wouldn’t overthink the nutrition, focusing on what is desirable / pleasurable is more relevant esp. with how fortified foods are these days. Maybe canned chili, boxed mac-and-cheese, hamburger helper, and other easy and tasty meals would work? Honestly I would just ask the people there what they like to eat and then stock that, if possible 😅
Honestly I would just ask the people there what they like to eat and then stock that, if possible
That might not actually be a bad idea if it’s allowed by whoever runs the little food pantry. Basically a community “grocery list” with a note about fresh fruit/vegetables not being allowed (and any other limitations) and pen might be the way to go.
I run it. :) It’s anonymous by design but I watch it from my window to see who’s coming and going. I did put feelers out on the FB group and the most-requested item was canned meat, so I make sure to stock chicken / tuna / salmon / spam. I’m sure a lot of people don’t want to publicly admit to using the pantry, though.
Maybe I could put a clipboard inside where people can write down their requests?
Maybe I could put a clipboard inside where people can write down their requests?
How about something a little more private? Let’s say a ‘Request Box’ where they can grab a card, check boxes of things they want with a blank write-in area to cover what’s not on the card.
Love that idea
Good idea!
What you’ve listed is already really good for staples, if someone has the time and motivation to cook they can do a lot with that. I might suggest some things that are easier to eat straight up, or at least with very little prep. It can be really hard to make a proper meal when you’re in a tough situation, especially when you’re just taking care of your self. Dried fruits (like raisins or apricots) might be a good add in particular, some specific ideas though:
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Some knorr pasta(or rice) sides, or other similar things would probably be good, basically just pasta and dehydrated sauce. Between $1.30 and 1.50 per 4.4 ounce pouch depending on the variety (about 450 calories in a pack). Shelf stable, decently appealing, and can be made quickly and easily (microwave or on stove tops). They aren’t super nutritious, but they’re a good bases for canned chicken/tuna or frozen/canned veggies, even if someone just eats them plain they’re better than a bag of chips or other junk food.
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Maybe nori could be worth it? Particularly the snack packs, sometimes you can find a big pack of those for a good price. Easy to eat, good nutrition, storable. I’ve found them for as little as 48¢ a pack at stores like Costco or Walmart. Cheaper at good international groceries. I’m hesitant to suggest these as they’re pretty insubstantial for the cost, but they can fill in gaps in nutrition and add some variety.
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Dates are a great option if you can find them for a good price. They’re easy to eat, last on the shelf, good nutrition and don’t need prep, and kids love them. The big tubs are really good price per weight, but for a food pantry, smaller packs would probably be better, $5 dollars for an 8oz pack is fairly easy to find if it’s not a fancy brand.
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Maybe instant mashed potatoes (AKA dried potatoes flakes). Not exactly super nutritionally complex if they’ve been pealed before processing, but they’re filling, easy to prepare, very shelf stable and cheap. Good base to add other stuff to as well. Packets are like $1.40 per 4 ounce packet (about 440 calories.) .
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Something a little more ready to eat might be welcome. Beef stew, chili those rice bags you add boiling water to, all make it easy for someone to eat as ling as thry can warm it up. Otherwise, I think you’re doing great.
Great idea, I’ll toss those on the list!
