Reminder that it’s ok to go to a food bank if you’re struggling to buy groceries. At least in my part of California, anyone at all can walk in and get stuff without proving need.
And that’s why they exist!! It’s ok to make use of them.
And for those of us who are not at all food insecure, maybe we think about giving a little extra. They can use money a lot more than food because they can make it go further than us buying food for them.
If you're able, pick any local city or county food bank and donate.
@Bronwyn Given how much the right hates California, it must be a great place to live!
@DeanFarrell we have our problems but I wouldn't choose anywhere else! (I am 6th generation Bay Area!)
@Bronwyn San Francisco is on my "to do" list. (To date, the farthest west I've been is Las Vegas.)
@DeanFarrell I think you will probably fall in love with it. Again, there are big problems (homelessness and you will be shocked at the prices of everything) but honestly I've never been to a city like it. I love it and not just because I was born there.
If you ever come out, let me know and I'll give recs!
@Bronwyn I give to my county’s food bank.
@pussreboots I'm going to do it right now so my post isn't hypocritical!
Families in Gaza need food too. Just make sure they're Gaza verified.
@Bronwyn One thing that made me smile back in the day was giving a bunch of canned food I had that I knew I was never going to eat to a food bank, and then the next week noticing those cans, empty, in the local garbage cans.
Take that, famine.
I have a good friend who is fine financially but by no means wealthy. She grew up poor and takes care full-time of her elderly disabled brother. And she goes to her food bank periodically without a second thought about it. She's quite well known in her community, too. She is neither shy nor proud of going. Doesn't care. No one else cares either. If you need help, go!
@Bronwyn I went to a food bank once and proving I was in financial need was so intrusive that I never went back.
@DrSuzanne I'm so sorry!! The one here in my town doesn't require any proof whatsoever and I wish that were the norm!
@Bronwyn They really should be.
@DrSuzanne @Bronwyn same here in the uk, you need a referral letter and have to have an appointment to discuss it first!
@DrSuzanne @Bronwyn you are better off trying https://olioapp.com/en/
@Tattooed_Mummy @Bronwyn If you don't feel bad enough for being poor, we'll make sure you do. :/
@DrSuzanne @Bronwyn It varies. A few around here have signage saying "Everyone is welcome!" and there's no means test.
absolutely!!
Some churches giveaway food too. At my local grocery store people can buy a bag of breakfast or lunch/dinner and put it in a donation bin. Three churches in the area pick up the donations and distribute them weekly. Anyone can get the food.
I've volunteered at a SJ food bank. It's wonderful to shop and get anything you need. We want to feed our community. It shouldn't be a struggle or a stress. Use it if you need it. They're pretty awesome actually.
@Bronwyn California's law requiring stores to donate unsold food changes the calculus somewhat. It actually benefits everyone if more of that food can be consumed instead of dumped, producing methane. Often packaged food is donated that requires facilities (e.g. cooking or refrigeration) that traditional food bank users don't have. Some established food distribution points (such as senior meals providers) offer both prepared food for the immediately hungry and/or homeless, and a (sometimes quite broad) selection of available donations.
Oct 20, 2026, 7:10 AM@Bronwyn the biggest problem with food banks is that they are required at all. Perhaps that’s more of a ‘the biggest problem with government is that food banks have to exist at all’.
@Bronwyn I don't feel like I deserve it. When other people are suffering more, I feel like I'm taking from someone else by going to a food bank.
I've been living a life of scarcity so long that I wouldn't know what to do with most food anyway. Eating food isn't even enjoyable and hasn't been for a long time, mostly due to the stress it creates by constantly having nothing left.
I have a job and a roof over my head and I can feed my cats. That's all I care about. I wish I wasn't this way, but I feel unable to change.
@Netraven I'm so sorry. You absolutely deserve it. As someone who just donated to a food bank, I would be so happy if that food went to you and especially if it gave you enough to feel like food wasn't scarce.