What happens next with my food donation?

We’re extremely grateful for the countless donations of food we receive every month at Second Harvest Food Bank. But what happens after you drop off your donation? Here’s what happens:

Weighed – Every day, we weigh all donations to ensure proper oversight of each and every item. Though we receive millions of pounds of donations every year, our warehouse crew tracks every pound of donations from the time it comes in the front door to the time it helps a family in need.

Sorted and inspected – This is an extremely important role of the thousands of volunteers who help us every year. Every single can, box, bag of rice or other nonperishable item is inspected for damage, spoilage and expiration dates. Any food that fails inspection is thrown away. (Note: Most food is still perfectly fine to donate and eat for a time after the “best used by” date.)

Packed into boxes for local food pantries and food programs: Your food donation is next packed in standard-sized boxes, each of which is carefully weighed.

Delivered to local food pantries:  The boxes are then loaded onto our fleet of trucks and delivered to the local pantries across South Louisiana.

In the hands of someone who needs it: After our delivery, the local food pantries we support will provide your donations to people in need in their neighborhoods. We’re actually pretty particular about local food pantries and programs we partner with, and require high standards of cleanliness, financial transparency and record-keeping. This ensures that your donations are going to the people who need them the most.

It’s a big job handling the tens of thousands of pounds of donations we receive every week. Our staff and volunteers have earned the highest honors in making sure all donations are handled in the best, most efficient way possible. Your food donation to Second Harvest will help a family right here in South Louisiana. Thank you for your support, and for more info on all the ways you can donate food, click here: http://no-hunger.org/donate-food/

Questions on donating food? Contact Michelle Rosamond at mrosamond@secondharvest.org or 504-729-2849.