While the Bonnyville Friendship Centre always appreciates donations to its food bank, it would appreciate it even more if those items were edible.
Volunteers were putting a donation away today when they noticed something a little off about it. It was all either freezer burnt or years past its expiry date.
Pauline Mawer with the Friendship Centre says this happens more often than you would think. “We do get a lot of that. People are cleaning out their pantries and we get half-opened boxes of rice and a lot of stuff that’s outdated. I don’t know if they realize this, but we can’t put those on our shelves. The health inspector would have us closed down. Whenever food comes in, our volunteers check for dates and you’d be amazed at how much product is outdated.”
As seems to be the case more and more often, the food bank has a growing clientele and the supplies can’t keep up. The bank is low on cookies, crackers and  potatoes among other items. Just make sure any donations are something you’d be able to eat yourself.