DONATE
Donate Food
The Food Bank welcomes food donations from individuals and companies alike. If you would like to make a donation of food as an individual, please see Food Drives, or consider making a cash donation. If you represent a company in the food industry and would like to make a corporate donation, please read on for more information.
The Regional Food Bank receives several hundred thousand pounds of donated food and non-food items each week from the food industry. No donation is too great or too small. Every donation plays a part in making it possible for the Food Bank to provide nearly 20 million pounds of food and grocery products each year for hungry and disadvantaged people. The Food Bank has the capacity to serve as your one-stop resource for making optimal use of unmarketable product, giving you the opportunity to conveniently reach several non-profit agencies with your donations.
Who Donates Food?
The food industry is the backbone of food banking. Hundreds of local and national companies donate quality food to the Regional Food Bank, including:
- Distributors
- Farmers
- Food Brokers
- Manufacturers
- Restaurants & Foodservice Operations
- Retailers
- Wholesalers
Venison Donation Coalition of New York State
In 2008, the Food Bank received 6,465 pounds of venison thanks to generous hunters. For information on how to donate venison and to find a processor in your county, please go to http://www.venisondonation.com
Food Donor Spotlight
The Food Bank started working with Railex in October 2006 when the company opened its state-of-the-art facility in Rotterdam and began receiving fresh produce such as apples, potatoes and onions from Washington State. Ever since, Railex has been a generous donor of both food and funds to the Food Bank, and the Railex staff is committed to consistently ensuring that any unmarketable produce is directed to the Food Bank to help feed people in need.
Railex was created to link the needs of growers, shippers, and manufacturers with retail and foodservice distribution. In 2008, Railex added a second train coming to Rotterdam with produce from California. Both west coast locations send a five-day service, 55 car refrigerated unit train with the capacity to transport the equivalent of 220 trailer loads of refrigerated merchandise every week. Even with Railex’s advanced technology, there are still products that are not able to be sold but still good to use, and that’s when Railex calls the Food Bank.
Last year, Railex donated nearly 1,000,000 pounds of food, which is a tremendous resource for the Food Bank, but still less than one-tenth of 1% of Railex’s volume. Thanks to this bounty, wonderful fruit and vegetables are distributed throughout the Food Bank’s 23-county service area and some was able to be shared with other food banks.
Bill Collins, Railex Northeast’s General Manager said, “Railex’s partnership with the Regional Food Bank provides the perfect solution for most efficiently handling product that is still good to eat but doesn’t meet standards. Railex is proud to be able to help feed people who are hungry and in need of wholesome fresh food.”
What Type of Food is Donated?
The Food Bank accepts donations of shelf-stable, fresh and frozen food, and non-food items such as paper goods, personal hygiene products and cleaning supplies - basically any item available from a grocery retailer or distributor. These products may no longer be marketable for the company, but if they are still good to use and can be safely consumed they are of great value to the non-profits the Food Bank serves.
There are many reasons why companies choose to donate, including:
- Production flaws
- Overproduction
- Mislabeling
- Unlabeled product (can be accepted with verification of ingredients)
- Discontinuation of product line
- Pack changes or reformulations
- Code dates –guidelines are researched and followed for safely utilizing close or past dated products
- Cosmetic packaging damages
- Shipping errors
- Deliveries that are not accepted and cannot be returned cost-effectively
- Product samples or test market items
- Unharvested or imperfect produce
Benefits to Our Food Industry Partners
- Tax Incentive
- All businesses are eligible for a tax deduction for donations of product to the Regional Food Bank. Businesses can deduct from their taxes an amount equal to the cost of the donated items plus one-half their fair market value, or two-thirds the cost, whichever is less. For more information on this tax incentive, call Joanne Dwyer at 786-3691 x223
- Liability Protection - The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act of 1996
- Protects food donors from liability when donating to a 501©3 non-profit organization
- Protects donors from civil and criminal liability for all product donated in good faith
- Standardizes donor liability exposure
- For more information see The Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Act of 1996
- Convenience and savings in storage, inventory, transportation and dumping costs
- Complete product tracking and recall capabilities
- Product donation receipt showing item(s) and total weight
- Safe Food Handling Training
- The most important reason of all… over 40,000 people need food assistance each week in the Food Bank’s service area
Donating is Easy
If you would like more information about making a food donation, call:
Joanne Dwyer
Director of Food Sourcing , Business Development Representative
518-786-3691, x223
To make arrangements for a food donation, call:
Receiving Office
518-786-3691, x242
To schedule a pick up or delivery after hours, please leave a message and we will return your call the next business day.
If you are located in Dutchess, Ulster, Orange, Sullivan, Putnam or Rockland counties, please call our branch facility:
Food Bank of the Hudson Valley
(845) 534-5344
The Food Bank is available to pick up or receive deliveries Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
To help us best prepare for your donation, please provide the following product information:
- Company name, contact(s), address, phone, fax and e-mail
- Receipting address (if different from product location)
- Date and time you would like the product picked up (or delivered to the Food Bank)
- Amount / number of pallets
- Product information and reason for donation –best-used-by dates, pack size, pallet configuration, information about extended shelf life, etc…
