Take this chart with you when you go grocery shopping to help you choose foods to donate to the food pantries. Or use it to help you organize a community food drive.

For healthier eating habits, eat LESS of the items at the TOP, and MORE of the items at the BOTTOM of the food pyramid.

Fats, Oils and Sweets

syrup
jelly and jam
honey
sugar
mayonnaise
vegetable oil
salad dressing

Milk, Yogurt and Cheese

infant formula
powdered milk
evaporated milk
instant breakfast drinks
small boxes of sterile milk
canned and boxed pudding

Meat, Poultry, Fish, Dry Beans, Eggs and Nuts

canned tuna
canned chicken
canned beef stews
canned salmon
bean soups
canned or dried beans
baked beans
canned chili
peanut butter

Vegetables

canned vegetables
vegetable soup
canned tomato products
spaghetti sauce
baby food vegetables
V-8 juice

Fruits

canned fruit
raisins
applesauce
dried fruits
baby food fruit
fruit leather (100% fruit)
canned and boxed 100% juice

Bread, Cereal, Rice & Pasta

rice and rice mixes
canned pastas
noodle mixes
dry noodles and pastas
macaroni and cheese mix
cold cereals
bran cereal
shredded wheat
infant cereal
hot cereal mixes
oatmeal
bread and muffin mixes
pancake mix
whole-grain crackers
granola bars
graham crackers
flour

Check with your county Cooperative Extension office for a listing of pantries in your area and for donation information.
If you want to donate fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables or perishable food items, please call your local food pantry first to be sure they can accept them. Keep these items refrigerated or frozen to keep them safe.

Non-Food Items

These may also be welcome at your local food pantry.
For more information, call your local food pantry.

Paper Products:

toilet paper
paper towels
napkins
tissues

Soap Products:

hand soap
laundry and dish detergent
cleaning products

Personal Care:

shampoo
toothpaste
toothbrush
shaving cream
razors
deodorant
feminine hygiene products

Extras:

tea
coffee
spices

What’s Food Recovery?

Food recovery is the collection of wholesome food for distribution to the poor and hungry. It follows a basic humanitarian ethic that has been part of societies for centuries. Today, the four most common methods for food recovery are:

Field gleaning: The collection of crops from farmers’ fields that have already been mechanically harvested or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest.
Perishable food rescue or salvage: The collection of perishable produce from wholesale and retail sources.
Food rescue: The collection of prepared foods from the food service industry.
Nonperishable food collection: The collection of processed foods with long shelf lives.

Source: “A Citizen’s Guide to Food Recovery,” USDA, April, 1997.

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.

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.

Prepared by Extension Educator Joyce Kleffner

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 Member of the University of Maine System
Last Modified: 08/14/08
These pages are currently being maintained from the
Communications Office, University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
Send comments, suggestions or inquiries to www-questions@umext.maine.edu