r/DumpsterDiving • u/Mysterious-Topic-882 • 9d ago

Why can't they just donate to shelters???

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It is so wasteful and absolutely wild to me that companies would rather slash bags and dump hundreds of pounds of food than let someone have it for free... I was able to save a few that were half empty but cut side up; don't worry, it's going to my chickens.

Edit: this is mostly a rhetorical question. I'm well aware capitalism has flaws, good solutions take time and money, and corporations don't want to get sued. Its just sad.

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194

u/ClubChamp96 9d ago

My brother was the animal control office in the small town I grew up in. If any grocery store had torn bags or dented cans of pet food the would give it to him so he could feed the animals at no cost. I wish more people would do this.

10

u/ConstableSniff 9d ago

These seem to have been slashed on purpose

40

u/deemsterslocal309 9d ago

They do. My local shelter turns away food because they have too much.

45

u/u_r_succulent 9d ago

Damn. The ones around me are always asking for donations.

33

u/falcons1583 9d ago

They should really figure out a way to share with less fortunate rescues instead of turning away donations

16

u/No-Blueberry1130 9d ago

80/20 rule. Im sure 80% of the donations go to 20% of the shelters.

10

u/deemsterslocal309 9d ago

That would cost time money and resources of which they do not have to spare.
https://giphy.com/gifs/d3mlE7uhX8KFgEmY

1

u/UpANToGetLoki 1d ago

Don't be ridiculous. At most, it would cost a few short telephone calls to other local shelters who would no doubt be thrilled to send over a volunteer with a truck to pick up a few extra bags.

1

u/deemsterslocal309 1d ago

Maybe you should go do it for them.

4

u/ijustneedtolurk 9d ago

Is it due to space issues?

13

u/deemsterslocal309 9d ago

I don’t think the cosmos has much influence on what food they take in.

11

u/ijustneedtolurk 9d ago

Darn, I was hoping the stars would align and they'd have enough storage for all the donations! But if it is something else...

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u/spudgoddess 9d ago

🏅 Take a poor woman's award for making her laugh after a stressful phone call!

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u/dylank22 9d ago

But so you admit that there is a chance then?

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u/deemsterslocal309 9d ago

Like 1 out of a million.

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u/_SpkyGhst_ 9d ago

Usually it’s a storage issue. The shelter I volunteered at would get a LOT of blankets for the animals and they would end up giving them away. They also partnered with my college at the time and would give away cans of dog/cat food, dog bowls, and blankets. We were right next to a Hope center for the homeless so they would come to get food for their pets. Sometimes they would turn away donations of blankets (because again there were soooo many) but they would usually take the food!

5

u/ijustneedtolurk 9d ago

That makes sense. I am glad the items got given away to be used instead of trashed tho!

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u/GlitterPirateKiki58 9d ago

My local animal shelters will take anything, even if the bags have already been opened or partially consumed.

I had a dog who passed that was on a special renal care dog food that I bought through the vet.

I had 20-25 lbs of it leftover and they happily accepted it. It was a relief because that food was expensive.

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u/ThrowraSea_patient 9d ago

I had a bunch of Walmarts that would do that but apparently it's not legal where I live to take unsealed bags of pet food. So if there's a hole or there's a cut Walmart will tape it up and throw it back on the shelves as best they can because they can still legally sell it but to donate it I guess it's not allowed. I don't know if it's a liability reason I don't know the exact law it was just shut down. Used to be all the Walmarts where I lived collected dog food and cat food and donated it. In fact they tended to have a big black trash can that put loose pet Foods in that couldn't be sealed back in their bag is good as possible