Reply #17: Second Harvest does not buy the goods [View All]

[Ms. Toad]

- for the most part - they are donated. This is not a "new variation on the old scam." Second Harvest/Feeding America is a well respected organization that was founded in the late 70s to coordinate the massive food waste (associated with overbuying, seasonal promotions, crops which exceed the amount that can be sold, etc.) with the equally massive hunger. Donations are needed because food doesn't magically move itself from point A to point B - there are costs involved. Calling it a scam is an insult to the founders who figured out how to address two wrongs they saw - food being discarded, and people going hungry.

Could the corporate entities make the food available at more affordable costs in the stores - sure. But they won't because it isn't in their business plan. As long as the food is going to be discarded, I am in favor of rescuing it and distributing it to families who need it. If it takes a slight incentive (the difference in tax treatment between a charitable donation and a loss write-off), I am still in favor of encouraging diversion of food from the landfill to hungry mouths.