FOOD BANKS: What a wanton waste

I can’t believe the wanton waste of perfectly good canned food exhibited in the photo on 12-28 of a Boy Scout discarding “expired” cans at the food bank.

First of all, the dates on cans that say “best by” are marked by the manufacturer and are not an expiration date. Of course, the manufacturers having their own best financial interest at heart are going to encourage you to discard their product and buy a replacement sooner than the product would normally deteriorate which can take several years. Having grown up in the forties, my parents were recovering from the depression and WW2. They never threw out food, and leftovers were recycled over and over. The canned goods didn’t have dates on them, and I imagine I consumed years-old food that had languished in the pantry.

A few years ago we were cleaning out the pantry of an elder and found several cans of soup that were at least 3 years past the “best by” date. We opened them all and made a big pot of blended flavor soup and it was delicious.

If canned goods go bad, the can will usually bulge. It is sad that we donate perfectly good food to help the needy and the food bank throws it away. Attention food bank operators: When you clean out your pantry of all that “expired” food, drop it off at my house and I’ll use it.

RAY KEMPER

Rathdrum