Donations

This part is pretty easy. The Lynx Pantry accept dry and canned food donations as well as toiletries. What does that mean? Basically, any food that is “shelf-stable” or nonperishable – you can keep it in your pantry and it won’t go bad. And remember, only donate food that hasn’t reached its “sell-by” date yet. Specifically, items like:

Food items

• Peanut butter
• Canned soup
• Canned fruit
• Canned vegetables
• Canned stew
• Canned fish
• Canned beans
• Pasta (most prefer whole grain)
• Rice (most prefer brown rice)

Toiletries

• Soap
• Shampoo and Conditioner
• Toothpaste and Toothbrushes
• Deodorant
• Razors and Shaving Cream
• Sanitary Pads and Tampons
• Panty Liners
• Hand Sanitizer
• Lotion

The number one rule to remember is this: if your donation is perishable, i.e., it’s something with a limited shelf life if not refrigerated, food banks won’t accept it. But there are other categories of food that you can’t donate. We've broken it all down into this handy list:

• Items needing refrigeration: Food like produce, dairy, and meat can spoil easily.
• Expired food: When considering what to donate, think about what you’d be comfortable serving your family.
• Leftovers:  To ensure the people they serve are safe, food banks can’t accept leftovers or anything made in personal kitchens because they aren’t individually sealed and the pantry can’t verify the ingredients or preparation process.
• Food with packaging concerns: This includes food with damaged packaging such as dented or bloated cans, packaging that is already open, or even items in glass containers, which can shatter and cause food safety concerns for any other food they’re stored near.
• Baked goods: Similar to leftovers, since food banks can’t confirm how your baked goods were made or their ingredients, they can’t be donated.