Food for ME 
A Citizen Action Fact Sheet for Community Food Recovery

University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Bulletin #4302

Donating Good, Safe Food to Food Pantries 

Donating, recovering and gleaning foods that would otherwise go to waste helps feed hungry Mainers. When recovering food, consider both safety and quality. Beware of the signs that food may be unsafe to eat. Use the following standards to decide what foods are unsafe to give to food pantries, cupboards and shelters.

Foods Stored at Room Temperature
These signs may indicate that food is unsafe:

Cans

• Too crushed to stack on shelves or open with a manual can opener
• Crushed immediately under the end (double) seam
• Moderate/severe dents where the side and end (double) seams meet
• Rust pits severe enough to make a hole in the can
• Swollen or bulging ends
• Holes, fractures or punctures
• Evidence of leakage
• Signs of spoilage (spurting; unusual odor or appearance) when opened
• Baby food or formula past the expiration date
• Missing label

Glass Jars

• Home-canned instead of commercially canned
• Raised, crooked or loosened lid
• Damaged tamper-resistant seal
• Cracks or chips
• Signs of spoilage (discolored food; cloudy liquid)
• Dirt under the rim
• Baby food past the expiration date

Paperboard Cartons

• Torn or missing inner packaging in cartons that are slit or opened
• Evidence of insects
• Baby food past the expiration date

Plastic Containers

• Damaged tamper-resistant seals
• Signs of spoilage (mold, off odor)
• Baby food past the expiration date

Foods Stored in Refrigerator or Freezer
These signs may indicate that food is unsafe:

Refrigerator Foods

• Lukewarm food (above 40 degrees F - refrigerator temperature)
• Signs of spoilage (unusual odor or appearance, molds)
• Unsuitable containers (and/or covers) that allow food to be contaminated

  Ending Food Waste Food recovery is one creative way to help reduce hunger in America. It supplements federal food assistance programs by making better use of a food source that already exists. Up to 1/5 of America’s food goes to waste each year, with an estimated 130 pounds of food per person ending up in landfills. The annual value of this lost food is estimated at around $31 billion. But the real story is that roughly 49 million people could have been fed by those lost resources. Source: “A Citizen’s Guide to Food Recovery,” USDA, April, 1997.

• Uncertain handling “history”

Freezer Foods

• Evidence of thawing (ice on the food or leaking)
• Unsuitable packaging that allows food to be contaminated

If in doubt, throw it out! Don’t rely on look or smell. Foods that cause food poisoning may look fine and smell OK. Never taste suspicious foods!

How You Can Help Recover Food

In today’s world, where so many wake up in poverty and go to sleep hungry, each of us must ask: “How can I help?”

To get involved, use the ideas in the Food for ME fact sheets or call “1-800-GLEAN-IT,” a toll-free hotline of the USDA and National Hunger Clearinghouse.

Food Recovery on the Internet

• Second Harvest: http://www.secondharvest.org/
• USDA Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Home Page: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fncs/
• United Way: http://www.efsp.unitedway.org/

Prepared by Nellie Hedstrom, Extension nutrition specialist 

Source: Safe Food for the Hungry, Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service, 1996. Adapted from Carolyn Raab, food and nutrition specialist, Oregon State University Extension Service.

For more information, contact your University of Maine Cooperative Extension county office.

Published and distributed in furtherance of Acts of Congress of May 8 and June 30, 1914, by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the Land Grant University of the state of Maine and the U.S. Department of Agriculture cooperating. Cooperative Extension and other agencies of the U.S.D.A. provide equal opportunities in programs and employment.

Food for ME Fact Sheet Series
A Citizen Action Fact Sheet for Community Food Recovery
Series includes:

• A Donor’s Guide to Vegetable Harvest and Storage  (PDF)
  4 pgs.  #4303
• Donating Food to Food Pantries and Cupboards (PDF)
  2 pgs.  #4302
• Food for Your Community: Gleaning and Sharing (PDF)
  4 pgs.  #4301
• Food Pantry Wish List (PDF)
  4 pgs.  #4304
• Organizing Your Community Garden (PDF)
  4 pgs.  #4300
• Plan Before You Donate Produce (PDF)
  2 pgs. #9031

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Last Modified: 08/14/08
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