What Are the Best/most Needed Food Shelf Items?

I always donate peanut butter and tuna. Families without a lot of money tend to eat less protein than they need.

Peanut butter, canned tuna in water, and canned tuna in water. Nuts are great, but expensive. Sams has multipacks cheap and after Christmas drug stores mark canned nuts half off.

Anything is better than nothing, but:

Typically foods to AVOID are

- rice
- beans
- pasta
- ramen

Why? Because the first 3> food programs are able to buy in BULK (at 1/10th or less retail cost), and all 4 are dirt cheap. They're what people are buying ANYWAY.

MOST NEEDED (in most places)

- Formula (milk based, soy based, rice based, hypoallergenic)
- Jarred Babyfood (of any and all types)
- Ensure
- Shelf stable milk (think juice boxes, but the horizon milk type.. both/either individual sized or large size)
- Shelf stable non-dairy milk (think rice dream, almond milk, etc. for lactose intolerant kids)
- Canned soups (meal type is most needed, think Progresso)
- Canned or boxed meals
- Canned meats (chicken, tuna, shrimp)
- Canned fruits
- Baby Cereal
- Breakfast Cereal (bright colored kids kind is most coveted)
- Cooking Oils
- Tomato Sauce
- Alfredo Sauce
- Baking Powder & Yeast
- Bisquick
- Desserts (poor people's kids have birthday's too)

So the most generous item? Look at the last one :) In FL there's a lady's society that puts together the following:

2 cake pans (or 1 cupcake pan & colorful liners)
1 cake mix box
3 cans of frosting
1 bottle of cooking oil
1 package of toothpicks (for testing if the cake is done)
1 package of brightly colored birthday candles
1 package of brightly colored plates
1 flat package of wrapping paper
1 printout of a local toy charity (because a lot of people don't even know about toys for tots for the holidays, much less somewhere to get a barbie or basketball for a birthday)

All told... it's about $30-$40 of making sure someone's kid gets a very special birthday. The do up (or did at the time) about 5-10 per month for the local food bank.

Call the organization to which you're donating and ask them what they need more of.

A question I can answer!!
I volunteered at a foodbank for a year. What we ALWAYS needed were canned fruits and baking things (cooking oil, flour, sugar, ect) There were always a ton of green beans, corn, and peas. More canned pumpkin than you could shake a fist at. TONS of soup.
But, that's just in my area. You should call your local food bank, or maybe volunteer (wink) and then you can see first hand what is needed more.
L.
(I'm sorry. In MY area there was always a TON of peanut butter and tuna too. That's really why you should call. Often times we were hurting for baby food and formula. Your food bank may have a refrigerated section and then you could do frozen meats)

Ask in your area pantry. They usually have a list. In Hawaii, rice is always needed but they also eat rice with EVERY meal! In Florida, they wanted Latino foods. In Missouri, they had a lrge Italian population and wanted tomato sauces and pastes. It is all about the location.

Btw, if you ever make a run to the Ronald McDonald house, toilet paper. They go through that stuff like water!

Peanut butter. I recently heard it's the most wanted item for food banks, although I'm sure it does make a difference as to the location, as MamaMay said, but PB is pretty universal. In fact the Salvation Army around here is doing a drive right now for only 3 items, I of course can't remember the other 2, but the first is peanut butter.

I agree that you should ask your local food bank what is most needed. And I heard a compelling news article yesterday that said cash donations go much farther than food – many more families can be helped.

Call your local food shelf and ask them what is needed. They LOVE for you to do that. They will give you the top 5 needed items. Great for you to do this!

It's great to ask them. They know! But recently our shelter needed Peanut butter and lots of it! Canned tomatoes and broth are a staple - I'm guessing they get a lot of that.

The more expensive items - tuna, chicken, nuts, etc.. are what I would get because everybody else is giving them canned string beans and corn (not that there's anything wrong with that but a little variation is nice).

I personally, haven't needed the service however we donate rice, tomato sauce, pasta, canned fruit and veggies, apple juice, soup and beans. Hope this helps....

Tuna, soup, beans, rice, babies food, formula, powdered milk, veggies.

we have a food shelf up here on the corner-i wondered the same thing-so i went an asked-oddly their biggest need is the canned drink ensure.due to the hi cost of it the elderly,the ill,disabled cannot afford it.so i went and bought 8 cases an donated it.all flavors.they were beyond happy.though it costed me a bit-it helped out alot of ppl in great need.thank you for helping.

Shelf stable milk?
Honestly I don't know. I would contact the location you plan to take the items to and see what they need most. Usually, food banks (or at least the one at our church) tend to have a "menu" so that they have items that work together. If they have a lot of jelly and no peanut butter, they may need PB. If they have a lot of dry cereals, they need milk. They may have a lot of Tuna Helper, but be low on canned tuna.
Just ask what they are currently low on or most in need of. Which can change from week to week.
You may even find that it is helpful to drop off bread the day before their biggest distribution day.
Just call and ASK them. :)

I always choose protein items first: Peanut Butter, Canned meats, like tuna or Spam if you buy it, then stews, then dried pastas, canned soups & veggies.

to add to Lauries list, Canned soups, spaghetti sauce, canned fruit, box dinners like Banquet Meals, Hamburger, and Tuna helper.

Rice, Beans, Pasta, Canned Veggies, Bouillon, Canned Tomatoes all types, Canned Tuna, Flour, Corn meal, Basic Cereals ~ Cheerios,

Pasta, Pasta sauce

Peanut butter and Jelly

Canned fruit & Veggies, tuna, salmon

Easy one step meals!

Stuff that saves and could have several uses.

We had a Girl Scout who was working with the local food shelf give a presentation at our church. She said the food shelf often needs staples because people forget about donating those--flour, cooking oil, coffee, sugar, etc.--and non-food items like dishwashing liquid, toiletries, laundry detergent. Cash can go a long way too as the other posters have suggested.