Having worked with food banks (& often been the recipient of their aid as a child), can drives are nice but it is always best to give cash if you can b/c their connections with wholesale means they can buy meals for much cheaper than you or I can, stretching your dollar further. https://twitter.com/Numero2Senor/status/1340434706777714688

If you have spare nonperishables AND cash to give, consider giving food to a little free pantry near you. You can find a partial list* of LFPs at http://mapping.littlefreepantry.org .

(I say partial cuz I checked the map & there are at least 3 not listed that I know of personally)

Why a LFP?

These can often serve as a source of meals for folks who might otherwise be disenfranchised by traditional food banks (no transport to a food bank, didn't get enough food at the bank for their family, too much shame to go to a traditional bank, etc.).

There's a lot less embarrassment to be found in walking up to a small box, taking what you need with no means-testing or questions asked, and walking away. Everyone needs to eat and deserves access to meals, full stop.

"But Swamp Witch, what if people who don't need the food steal it?"

A) they won't.
B) if they do, they're an outlier, not the norm. I've helped maintain stock in a couple LFPs for years & people generally respect/leave them be.
C) maybe they do need it & we just can't tell.

Because you can't tell. I don't care if they roll up in a fkn Escalade & designer clothes; in our union-starved country, you can go from employed & prosperous to unemployed & penniless in the blink of an eye, as this pandemic has proven, & a car is vital in case you're evicted.

You can't always tell who's going hungry or what someone's story is, and nobody deserves to be hungry, not even the garbage heaps who put us in this mess.

Give if you can, boost if you can't.