KEEP OR TOSS SURVEY FOR FOODS DONATED TO FOOD PANTRIES
SUMMARY OF 2013 SURVEY RESULTS
Survey Question #1: On average, please provide an estimate of what percentage of all food donations are tossed/thrown away?
The AVERAGE percentage of all food donations that are tossed/thrown away:
The HIGHEST percentage of donated food any pantry reported having to throw away:
The SMALLEST percentage of donated food any pantry reported having to throw away:
7.4%
25.0%
1.0%
Survey Question #2: What resources have you used to determine which donated foods need to be tossed?
Figure 2.1 Resources pantries use to determine which
donated foods should be tossed
100%
80%
69%
60%
63%
56%
40%
20%
6%
6%
6%
Other food
pantries
CAP agencies
0%
Health department Food bank network
UW-Extension
Other, please
specify:
W:\MSOffice\Excel\WNEP\Food Pantries\Keep or Toss Survey Summary.xlsx
*"Food Bank
Network" includes
Feeding America
and Hunger Task
Force
SURVEY RESULTS: Keep or Toss Survey for Foods Donated to Food Pantries (February 2013)
Figure 3.1 Percentage of Pantries Accepting the Following Foods and
Percentage of That Food Category Likely to be Tossed
Survey Question #3: Which of the following donated products are you able to accept?
Of all donated products you are able to accept, which items are most likely to be thrown away or considered unusable?
Fresh produce (fresh fruits
and vegetables)
Perishable dairy (fluid milk,
cheese, yogurt)
47%
27%
Shelf-stable dairy
13%
Meat and chicken (fresh)
0%
Meat and chicken (frozen)
33%
Processed meat (hot dogs,
sausage, deli meat)
6%
Bread
19%
Other bakery items
(cookies, muffins, cakes, etc.)
Canned goods (fruits, vegetables,
meats, beans, soups, etc.)
Other packaged meals or dry mixes
(Hamburger Helper, Riceroni, etc.)
7%
50%
25%
Baby food, including formulas
31%
Other, please specify
13%
0%
20%
40%
% of Pantries Likely to Throw Away the Food
Page 2 of 8
60%
% of Pantries That Accept the Food
80%
100%
SURVEY RESULTS: Keep or Toss Survey for Foods Donated to Food Pantries (February 2013)
Figure 3.2
Percentage of Pantries That Accept Food of the
Following Types
Fresh produce (fresh fruits and vegetables)
94%
Perishable dairy (fluid milk, cheese, yogurt)
69%
Shelf-stable dairy
94%
Meat and chicken (fresh)
56%
Meat and chicken (frozen)
94%
Processed meat (hot dogs, sausage, deli meat)
100%
Bread
100%
Other bakery items (cookies, muffins, cakes, etc.)
94%
Canned goods (fruits, vegetables, meats, beans, soups, etc.)
100%
Other packaged meals or dry mixes (Hamburger Helper, Riceroni, etc.)
100%
Baby food, including formulas
100%
Other, please specify
100%
0%
20%
% of Pantries That Accept the Food
Page 3 of 8
40%
60%
80%
100%
SURVEY RESULTS: Keep or Toss Survey for Foods Donated to Food Pantries (February 2013)
Figure 3.3 Percentage of Pantries Likely to Throw Away Food of the
Following Types*
Fresh produce (fresh fruits and vegetables)
Perishable dairy (fluid milk, cheese, yogurt)
Shelf-stable dairy
Meat and chicken (fresh)
Meat and chicken (frozen)
Processed meat (hot dogs, sausage, deli meat)
Bread
Other bakery items (cookies, muffins, cakes, etc.)
Canned goods (fruits, vegetables, meats, beans, soups, etc.)
Other packaged meals or dry mixes (Hamburger Helper, Riceroni, etc.)
Baby food, including formulas
Other, please specify
0%
10%
*Only pantries that accept the categories of foods listed above are included.
Page 4 of 8
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
SURVEY RESULTS: Keep or Toss Survey for Foods Donated to Food Pantries (February 2013)
Survey Question #4: Based on recent donations, how frequently did you throw away food due to the following
conditions?
Figure 4.1 Reasons Pantries Discarded Food Products
100%
80%
69%
69%
60%
69%
63%
40%
Often (%)
38%
38%
31%
38%
38%
31%
20%
19%
19%
13%
13%
6%
6%
0%
Cans are deply Boxes/bags are Presence of mold Perishable items Cans are out of Boxes are out of
dented
opened, seal not
(eggs, milk,
date
date
intact
yogurt, lunch
meat) are out of
date
Page 5 of 8
Product not
stored at
appropriate
temperature
Product held in
storage too long
(did not get
distributed to
households fast
enough)
Rarely (%)
SURVEY RESULTS: Keep or Toss Survey for Foods Donated to Food Pantries (February 2013)
CONCLUSIONS AND FINDINGS
NON-PERISHABLE FOODS:
The donation of expired non-perishable (canned and boxed) foods is one of the top two reasons why pantries discard food products. Most of the expired nonperishable foods donated come from the Postal Drive, community food drives, and large donations made by individual households that occur due to deaths,
moving to a new residence or "cleaning out the cupboards."
100% of pantries reported having to discard a portion of their canned food donations due to the food being expired or out-of-date.
Approximately one-third (31%) of food pantries reported that they often have to throw out canned food donations due to the food being expired.
Cans are out of date
Boxes are out of date
Often
31%
13%
Rarely
69%
69%
Never
0%
19%
6%
38%
56%
Perishable foods (eggs, milk, meat,
etc.) are out of date
Cans are out of date
0% Cans are out of date
Often
31%
69%
31%
Rarely
69%
Often
Rarely
Never
Page 6 of 8
Comments From Food Pantry Coordinators:
 The only time we throw out items is with the Postal Drive.
 The 10-15% (of food tossed) may not sound like much over the
whole year, but this is including all the items donated and bought
that are brand new. When we get food drives from the "outside,"
that percentage may be as high as 30%.
 The donation of non-perishable expired foods is one of the most
common reasons why The Giving Tree has to discard food. One
recent donation had a 2004 expiration date. A lot of people clean
their cupboards out and donate old canned foods they haven't
used (without checking dates); it's important to check expiration
dates on non-perishable foods before donating.
 When people (especially elderly people) stock up on nonperishable foods on sale, they need to check the expiration dates
to ensure they are not coming up soon. When someone "cleans
out their cupboards" due to moving, sometimes, almost 100% of
the donations need to be thrown out due to expiration dates.
With Postal Drive donations, about 33% of the canned foods
donated are too far past the expiration date to distribute.
 The canned and boxed food that we discard is usually from either
a large drive (i.e. Postal Collection), or someone cleaning out a
home pantry (i.e. death).
SURVEY RESULTS: Keep or Toss Survey for Foods Donated to Food Pantries (February 2013)
NON-PERISHABLE FOODS - continued from page 6: The donation of opened products (products which did not have the seal intact) was the single most
widespread reason (reported by the greatest number of pantry coordinators) why food pantries could not distribute products to clients; 37.5% of pantries
reported that the donation of opened foods was a frequent problem, and another 62.5% cited the donation of opened containers and products as being one
reason why their pantry has had to throw away food.
Boxes/bags are opened, seal not
intact
Often
37.5%
Comments From Food Pantry
Coordinators Regarding the Donation of
Opened Foods:
 Open boxes or bags are received in food
drives.
 The donation of opened products can be
a problem. In the past, the 7th Day
Adventist Food Pantry has received
peanut butter and other products that
have already been opened.
Rarely
62.5%
Page 7 of 8
SURVEY RESULTS: Keep or Toss Survey for Foods Donated to Food Pantries (February 2013)
PERISHABLE FOODS:
A majority of the pantries responding accept and receive donations of perishable and fresh foods, including dairy products, meats, fresh fruits and vegetables and
breads. Most of these perishable and fresh products are donated to the pantries through arrangements with local grocers, farmers, bakeries and other food
producers. Perishable or fresh foods which would otherwise spoil due to pantries' limited storage or distribution capacities are donated to local schools or nonprofits, such as homeless shelters, other food pantries, Marion House, etc. Among all types of perishable and fresh foods, pantries were the least likely to accept
fresh meat and chicken (only 56% of pantries accept fresh meats) and perishable dairy (only 69% of pantries accept milk, yogurt, etc.).
Of all the perishable and fresh foods donated, pantries reported that fresh fruits and vegetables is the category of food that is the most likely to be tossed. Nearly
half of all pantries (47%) identified fresh fruits and vegetables as a food that is likely to be thrown away or considered unusable. Several reasons were cited for
this trend. Fresh fruits and vegetables are often tossed due to the quantities donated exceeding pantries’ ability to provide the refrigerated storage space needed
to preserve those fruits and vegetables for longer periods of time; although most pantries have the capacity to refrigerate or freeze items, priority is given to milk,
meats and other perishables that are in higher demand. In addition, some pantries distribute food bi-weekly or monthly and are not able to keep the donated
produce fresh long enough due to the time that elapses between donation and distribution. Another reason cited by pantries for having to toss out fresh produce
was the quality of the donations received (bruised, overly ripe, etc.). A third reason was simply due to less demand for fresh produce among pantry clients than
other products; however, one pantry reported that they have never had to throw out fresh vegetables when they receive seasonal donations from local farmers
and garden owners (such as squash, pumpkins, etc.), because the fresh produce is high in demand among their clients.
The following food pantries participated in this survey:
N
A
P
D
B
C
K
E
O
G
I
H
F
M
L
J
7th Day Adventist Pantry
9th Street Christian Center
De Pere Christian Outreach
First Presbyterian Church
FUMC Good Will Place
Grace Lutheran Church
Manna for Life Ministries
Resurrection Lutheran Church
St. Bernard Catholic Church
St. John Lutheran Church
St. Mark Lutheran
St. Patrick Catholic Church
St. Willebrord Church
The Giving Tree
The Salvation Army
Trinity Lutheran Church
Total Food Pantries Responding:
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
16
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