My trip to the local food pantry -- need advice please [View All]

[theHandpuppet]

I recently had a rather discouraging trip to the local food pantry, where I've been donating regularly for several years now. Even as the demand goes up, contributions keep going down. Some days when I deliver foodstuffs some of the shelves are wiped clean -- but it's almost always the shelves with processed foods full of fat and sugar and not much else. Mac & cheese, canned pasta, etc.

Now I actually shop for the foods I donate, trying to keep in mind that some of these folks don't have electricity to even cook their food. But I clip coupons so that helps. I try to pick more wholesome foods -- greens, legumes, whole grain cereals, natural fruits. I also take fresh veggies from my garden when available. But this last time I went I was told not to bring any more vegetables. "They don't eat them, " the volunteer said, pointing to shelves bursting with canned and dried vegetables of all types. Instead, it was suggested I bring canned soup and cereal and anything that can be eaten out of a can, like canned spaghetti.

Maybe I'm wrong here, but I find this a bit discouraging. I see tons of kids around here who are malnourished -- not undernourished, but MALnourished, with pasty skin and dark circles under their eyes. What I buy for the food pantry is stuff I wouldn't hesistate to put on my own shelf and sometimes the only way I can afford these items is with coupons. On a limited budget it's hard for me to go to the store and purposely spend money on Count Chocula and Spaghetti-O's because some folks needing food don't want whole grain bread, organic cereals, or greens and real fruit juice.

I guess I should just take their list and buy what's asked for even if I know this stuff is junk but this is really nagging at me and perhaps it shouldn't be. What would you do? I'm just a bit discouraged right now and could use some objective advice. It's time for another shopping trip and I have to make some decisions.