I tallied the price tags of the non-perishables that I collected from Gristedes the other day.
The total is $291.05.
I only took what I wanted and could carry, which was only about 1/5 of what was there. And the figure doesn't include baked goods or produce. And that was only one store out of so very many on one night out of so very many. Consider how much that all adds up to!
I understand the need for an sell-by labeling system. It's the same with college move-out day--I understand why it happens, I know the feeling of having three hours to pack to move across the country while hungover, with your parents looking over your shoulder, foreseeing no future use for a shower caddy or XL twin sheets. The frustration I have is that because it is foreseen and unfailing, then infrastructure should be in place to comfortably consign the goods to another user. Cambells soup! The most classically non-perishable food item I can imagine, was being thrown out by the dozen. Yes, the sell-by date had come and gone, so fine...the store can't sell it. But value does not have to vaporize along with that store's ability to put it on their shelves.
The granola and nuts were being tossed because their expiration date had passed. The thing is, granola doesn't instantaneously spoil. A cereal moth might nudge it's way in, or the oil might begin to taste past its best, but even then it's a matter of taste--it's nothing biological emetic. That being the case, it would be nice if there were a way for liability to be relaxed so that perfectly edible food could be redistributed.
I don't meant to get preachy, but with 400,000 people in New York City suffering from moderate to severe hunger, and over 1,000 soup kitchens & food pantries in operation, many far over capacity, the framework of food disposal seems to be in need of a major overhaul.
