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- After volunteering at a food bank, I saw how much candy goes to waste after Halloween.
- Food banks and their customers need more nutritious and fulfilling food.
- Now we’re handing out chips and crackers, which are fun treats with more substance and nutritional value.
As a food bank volunteer, I watched a near-constant parade of people unloading bags of unwanted trick-or-treat candy in the days after Halloween.
Since there was only room for two milk cartons of candy, most of the donation went straight to the trash.
Where I worked, extra candy was sometimes left on the table on food rationing days. I put them on the table in the volunteer area. Much of it was thrown away over the weekend, much like the candy that shows up in the break room at work after Halloween.
It was always heartbreaking to see the waste. Resources spent on candy that no one wanted could have been better spent on nutritional foods that might fill someone’s stomach.
At the food bank orientation, we were instructed not to pack candy in food boxes for our clients. It is a business that tries to
Candy has no nutritional value. Most of the time our clients don’t want that.
Some food banks have enacted policies not to serve candy or soda. The policy recognizes that people with food insecurity tend to have lower quality diets. It also aims to educate the public about the need to share nutrient-rich foods.
Food-insecure people are accustomed to being fed high-calorie, low-nutrition foods. But our clients actually loved getting fresh vegetables and fruits that weren’t brown or fluffy. The fruit pies sold quickly, but the sweet birthday cakes usually sat on the shelf waiting to be composted.
Of course, each food bank may be slightly different. But I think most people would prefer to receive a nutritious item from their most-needed list or cash instead of candy.
Every time I threw a single candy in the food bank trash, I had time to rethink my own Halloween handout.
This year we will be handing out chips and crackers instead of sweets.
candace nelson
We’re not going to start handing out salad kits or toothbrushes for trick-or-treating, but this year we’re handing out more substantial lunchbox snacks instead of candy.
I’m not suggesting that packaged cookies and chips are health food. Contains vitamins.
Moreover, children can still enjoy them. Last year, as I watched my niece and nephew organize their Halloween packing, they first reached for a snack-sized bag of chips.
If all else fails, these snacks are something I don’t mind having in my pantry. increase.
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