Non-perishable food for a well-rounded diet?
Non-perishable food for a well-rounded diet?
My neighborhood has a little free food pantry that I fill weekly. Problem is, I've been finding it difficult to provide a well-rounded variety of foods. Fresh fruit and veg are not allowed.
Any ideas for items I can stock? I try to keep each item under $2 to get the most bang for my buck.
My go-tos are:
*Rice.
*Oats.
*Beans, dried and canned (these usually go slowly)
*Baking mixes, flour, sugar, yeast.
*Canned veggies.
*Condensed soup.
*Oil.
*Evaporated milk.
*Condiments.
*Canned chicken, tuna, and salmon.
*Applesauce.
*Spices.
Thanks ahead of time for any ideas. Can't seem to get the formatting working on mobile but you get the gist.
Lentils and nuts is what I can think of.
I stocked lentils once and they sat for weeks. :( Nuts would be great but are pricey.
random idea - could you make little "meal kit" type things for the less popular ingredients like these?
if someone has never cooked lentils before, and sees them in a free pantry, I can definitely understand why they wouldn't be inclined to take them, they can be somewhat daunting at first.
but you could do something like bundle together a bag of lentils with a can of tomato paste and a jar of curry powder, with a printout of this recipe or a similar one, and someone would only need to add a couple of fresh veggies to complete the recipe.
is buying them in bulk and dividing them up into smaller portions an option? one of my go-to snacks are these cashews which are still on the pricey side, but less expensive than buying them in smaller packages.
nuts also go rancid, not exactly "non-perishable"