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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nHunger exists everywhere in the U.S., thanks to increasing living costs, a lack of public infrastructure, health problems and socioeconomic barriers to access.<\/p>\n
Nearly 50 million Americans face food insecurity on a daily basis, some 13 million of whom are children. And more than 50 million have turned to food banks and pantries for help, according to the non-profit Feeding America.<\/p>\n
The longest government shutdown in history and new requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients could make matters worse, experts say.<\/p>\n
“I think millions of people are going to lose food. … There’s no question this is going to create more harm and suffering and hunger,” Joel Berg, CEO of the nonprofit hunger relief organization Hunger Free America, told ABC News.<\/p>\n
While food banks hope people will donate money and food to meet dire demand, some donations are better than others. <\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/p>\n
open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Food banks want people to donate. But what you donate matters (Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Perishable items<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n Food that needs refrigeration, leftovers and anything perishable is a big \u201cno-no.\u201d <\/p>\n
Food banks won\u2019t accept dairy or produce that can spoil easily and some places likely don\u2019t have the refrigerator or freezer space needed to keep items fresh. <\/p>\n
And while donating Thanksgiving leftovers seems like a nice gesture in the spirit of the holiday, food banks cannot accept anything made in personal kitchens because they are not individually sealed and the food bank cannot verify the ingredients or the preparation process.<\/p>\n
The same goes for baked goods. <\/p>\n
Fortunately, many food banks have relationships with local restaurants and bakeries to provide bread and produce to pantries, soup kitchens and shelters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile an individual can\u2019t donate a bunch of bananas or a frozen turkey, many food banks do work directly with farmers, retailers, restaurants and other companies to source these perishable foods for donation,\u201d Feeding America explained.<\/p>\n
Consider canned items with high protein and low sodium, such as beans, nut butter, canned protein and low sodium vegetables.<\/p>\n
Expired food<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n This may seem like a no-brainer, but sometimes we forget to check the label of canned goods that last for a while. <\/p>\n
Avoid donating anything past the \u201cuse by\u201d or \u201csell by\u201d date on cans. <\/p>\n
Home canned foods should be used within one year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. <\/p>\n
\u201cHigh acid foods such as tomatoes and other fruit will keep their best quality up to 18 months; low acid foods such as meat and vegetables, two to five years,\u201d the department notes.<\/p>\n
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\n<\/p>\n
open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Donating food with packaging concerns can be harmful to recipients and food bank workers (Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
Food with packaging concerns<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n Food with packaging concerns can be hazardous to both food bank workers and recipients.<\/p>\n
Items in glass containers can shatter easily, causing concerns for any other food they\u2019re store near. <\/p>\n
And dented or bloated cans could lead to botulism, a rare but serious illness caused by the toxin Clostridium botulinum<\/em> that can lead to difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis, and even death.<\/p>\n\u201cWhile extremely rare, a toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum is the worst danger in canned goods. NEVER USE food from containers that show possible “botulism” warnings: leaking, bulging, or badly dented cans; cracked jars or jars with loose or bulging lids; canned food with a foul odor; or any container that spurts liquid when opening,\u201d the Department of Agriculture says. <\/p>\n
\u201cEven a minuscule amount of botulinum toxin can be deadly.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Hunger exists everywhere in the U.S., thanks to increasing living costs, a lack of public infrastructure, health problems and socioeconomic barriers to access. Nearly 50 million Americans face food insecurity on a daily basis, some 13 million of whom are children. And more than 50 million have turned to food banks and pantries for help, according to the non-profit Feeding America. The longest government shutdown in history and new requirements for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients could make matters worse, experts say. “I think millions of people are going to lose food. … There’s no question this is going to create more harm and suffering and hunger,” Joel Berg, CEO of the nonprofit hunger relief organization Hunger Free America, told ABC News. While food banks hope people will donate money and food to meet dire demand, some donations are better than others. open image in gallery Food banks want people to donate. But what you donate matters (Getty Images) Perishable items Fo…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8786"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}