Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina is part of a national food bank chain, which serves 16 counties in North Carolina. The food bank helped get local grocery stores involved. Lacey says the stores give the food away for various reasons - it is not selling, has an expiration date that consumers' will not buy or the product is damaged. Food Lion gave us 500 turkey TV dinners last week because they were slow selling. Last week Ingles donated 140 gallons of milk because the creamery didn't fill all the jugs full, said Lacey.
Expiration dates can also cause problems for grocers.
Many times Lacey says the food is still good, but will not sell because of the date. The stores are then forced to put the food on half price or throw it away. Lacey says all items of food are tested for freshness and safety. Every volunteer in the program must complete a three-day food handling training program to check the food. This way we can spot food that is dangerous or spoiled.