constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Sept 17, 2013 7:15:30 GMT -5
I have some questions for y'all about stockpiles. Have you ever had to give your stockpile away? Is it easy to donate? The reason I ask is that I have a whole stockpile of HBA items from ~1-2 years ago that have never been opened. Most are shampoos, soap, etc. We don't use it that quickly so it may go bad. We also maybe moving and don't want to pay to move this stuff. So what do I do with it? Do shampoo and HBA items expire? I know I would use it myself but do shelters and charities take this stuff? Most are P&G items (Pantenes, Olays, etc). Most do not expire. Shelters would gladly take it. Or you could try selling it if you feel like it. I sell my excess stockpile HBA items all the time. But, any homeless shelter, domestic violence shelter or church would be thrilled with these types of items.
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Peace77
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Post by Peace77 on Sept 17, 2013 7:45:21 GMT -5
Shampoo and soap doesn't go bad. If you don't want to move it, you can donate it to any shelter, healthcare for the homeless program, Domestic violence program, or food pantry.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Sept 17, 2013 10:20:17 GMT -5
Mardi Gras Audrey: As others have stated, soap is a NON-PERISHABLE. Any soap product that you have will be just as good 10 years from now as it is today. That is why whenever I found a freebie on a non-perishable, I stockpiled like crazy. There are also products that have expiration dates or sell-by dates, but are still effective long after the date has passed. Body lotion is a good example. The more expensive brands like Aveeno and Eucerin do not break down over time as quickly as the less expensive brands like Suave and Vaseline Intensive Care. (You can find some great clearance deals on high quality/long shelf-life lotions at the drug chains in the late fall/early winter.) You would also be surprised to know that some over the counter drugs are effective way past the date stamped on the product too. SuziQ from the Grocery Challenge used to work for a pharma and clued us in on that.
My local food pantry loves donations of toiletries!!
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Sept 17, 2013 10:37:48 GMT -5
Stockpiling also means that when you find a great deal on something, you should have the extra money to take advantage of it.
Last week DH and I happened to be one town over and stopped into Safeway. I checked out the manager's special meat clearance and found (6) 2-packs of Rancher's Reserve beef tenderloin steaks marked down from $14.99/lb. to $7.00/lb. (less than half price). I grabbed them all for $35 OOP, took them home, and re-packaged them in groups of (2) for freezing. Now we have filets for a little less than $3 each. You can hardly buy a good burger for that!!
A couple of weeks ago, I was at the Grocery Outlet and found 12 oz. packages of ORGANIC Italian sausage for $.99/ea. They were reduced because they had reached their sell-by date. They were already packaged in vacuum sealed packaging so there was no need to repackage them for freezing. I grabbed (14) packages. They will last indefinitely without freezer burn.
Whenever I run across deals like these, because of my stockpiles (and not having to add so many items to my shopping list), I always have had the money to take advantage of them.
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pepperdoo
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Post by pepperdoo on Sept 17, 2013 13:55:29 GMT -5
I just got 12 months of dish soap for $12.00 and tax yesterday. I bought meat on sale at a store that I won't regularly shop at for $39.60. I knew the checker, and she asked me why I hadn't seen her for so long. I politely just said that I won't shop there unless there are extreme sales, and that there are other stores in town that offer better value at way lower pricing. She handed me an opinion survey, and I filled it out and turned it in with this statement.
We don't have to accept just what is handed to us, and in order to keep my expenses down, I will do what I have to in order to make it work.
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mrsdutt
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Post by mrsdutt on Sept 17, 2013 14:17:21 GMT -5
I just got 12 months of dish soap for $12.00 and tax yesterday. I bought meat on sale at a store that I won't regularly shop at for $39.60. I knew the checker, and she asked me why I hadn't seen her for so long. I politely just said that I won't shop there unless there are extreme sales, and that there are other stores in town that offer better value at way lower pricing. She handed me an opinion survey, and I filled it out and turned it in with this statement. We don't have to accept just what is handed to us, and in order to keep my expenses down, I will do what I have to in order to make it work. You're certainly right about not having to accept things. I think we were talking about this just yesterday. If I like a certain item and the company raises prices that I feel are too high, I just stop using the item. I've always been like this. When I feel I'm being taken advantage of, I withdraw my bucks. There a number of ways to get the vitamins I need for survival. Peppers are a good example. (we talked about this too) I was at a restaurant store and saw that a huge can of roasted (yes already roasted) peppers was 6.47. The grocery sells them for 3/5.00. Why are the 3 fresh ones so much more expensive? There is no answer. Certainly it can't be transportation costs. So I will either use the roasted ones or nothing but a substitute.
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pepperdoo
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Post by pepperdoo on Sept 17, 2013 16:49:34 GMT -5
mrsdutt: Yup, exactly right
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pepperdoo
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Post by pepperdoo on Sept 17, 2013 16:52:21 GMT -5
Today I added to my stock by going to Grocery Outlet, and got too many things to list. Every single item could be bought at any of the other stores, and instead of $80.00 I spent only $21.00.
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pepperdoo
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Post by pepperdoo on Sept 17, 2013 18:17:18 GMT -5
I just got 12 months of dish soap for $12.00 and tax yesterday. I bought meat on sale at a store that I won't regularly shop at for $39.60. I knew the checker, and she asked me why I hadn't seen her for so long. I politely just said that I won't shop there unless there are extreme sales, and that there are other stores in town that offer better value at way lower pricing. She handed me an opinion survey, and I filled it out and turned it in with this statement. We don't have to accept just what is handed to us, and in order to keep my expenses down, I will do what I have to in order to make it work. This has happened at both Albertson's and Vons. I have posted a lot before about the fact that I avoid shopping at either store now. The mark up is just too high. My taking the time to fill out the store survey just rekindles the fire to avoid it more unless there are extreme sales on items.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Sept 17, 2013 19:04:35 GMT -5
Today I added to my stock by going to Grocery Outlet, and got too many things to list. Every single item could be bought at any of the other stores, and instead of $80.00 I spent only $21.00. AWESOME JOB!! I've been working in the yard so much that I haven't been to The GO in a couple of weeks. I gotta get my behind over there!!
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Sept 17, 2013 19:33:12 GMT -5
I just got 12 months of dish soap for $12.00 and tax yesterday. I bought meat on sale at a store that I won't regularly shop at for $39.60. I knew the checker, and she asked me why I hadn't seen her for so long. I politely just said that I won't shop there unless there are extreme sales, and that there are other stores in town that offer better value at way lower pricing. She handed me an opinion survey, and I filled it out and turned it in with this statement. We don't have to accept just what is handed to us, and in order to keep my expenses down, I will do what I have to in order to make it work. This has happened at both Albertson's and Vons. I have posted a lot before about the fact that I avoid shopping at either store now. The mark up is just too high. My taking the time to fill out the store survey just rekindles the fire to avoid it more unless there are extreme sales on items. My grocery list each week consists of what I can cherry pick from the ads whether it be a national grocery chain or one of the small ethnic markets in town. DH is at the golf course hitting a bucket of balls and on his way home he is going to pick up onions @ $.25/lb. and grapes @ $.99/lb. from one of the ethnic markets. So for the next week, grapes will be our fresh fruit and we'll have onions on the cheap as needed for a while. The new ads just came out with prices starting tomorrow. Peaches are $.99/lb. at the same ethnic market, so we will picking up fresh peaches before the sale ends. I have several Fresh Express salad kits that I picked up at Safeway for $1 ea. after using $2/1 coupons. I'll add grilled chicken to the Asian kit and taco meat to the Mexican kit to turn the kits into main dishes during the week.
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mrsdutt
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Post by mrsdutt on Sept 17, 2013 19:49:50 GMT -5
DANCI: There's one thing you have in CA that the East Coast doesn't have. Ethnic Markets with good prices. When I lived in the NE we had Italian markets. But the prices were high because people thought they were selling gourmet food. Pepperoni from Italy may sound gourmet, but it was at one time 'poor' folk food. Our lunches growing up consist of a piece of Italian bread dipped in OO, a piece of fruit, and a small chunk of cheese. So good. On great days a piece of pepperoni was added. Artichokes were .05 cents and made a delicious meal when they were stuffed. Now they sell here for 2.00 each. They still grow the same way. Transportation is higher and maybe pickers make more cash per hour.
Thinking about it, my grandparents stocked. Grandpop made wine in his cellar and grandma had wheels of cheese and sticks of pepperoni hanging in the kitchen. The smell was marvelous. The food came from relatives in Italy.
I can't remember if she canned, but maybe so because of all the fruit trees they had. Come to think of it, there were canned cherries.
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pepperdoo
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Post by pepperdoo on Sept 17, 2013 19:59:43 GMT -5
dancinmama: That's the phrase, cherry picking !! My nickname's Fuzzy for a reason My ads won't come till tomorrow, so I will go back on Thursday.
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Mardi Gras Audrey
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Post by Mardi Gras Audrey on Sept 18, 2013 0:40:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. I think I know of a shelter or two that can use them (I moved back to CA after getting out of the military a few years ago. I remember a few shelters I donated to when I was a girl scout... I need to see if they are still around).
Does anyone know why some shampoos have an expiration date? I think I saw that head & shoulders does. I don't want them thinking I am giving them trash that I wouldn't use (I would use it, it is just my family size =2 and we don't use stuff as fast as it was stockpiled).
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marvholly
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Post by marvholly on Sept 18, 2013 7:01:02 GMT -5
Mrs Dutt said: If I like a certain item and the company raises prices that I feel are too high, I just stop using the item. I've always been like this. When I feel I'm being taken advantage of, I withdraw my bucks. There a number of ways to get the vitamins I need for survival.
EXACTLY what I do. Do without. Make a change to another item. Make a change to another store (buying more & more at the dollar store). Didn't buy the Bayer at WAG this week. Dollar store MUCH better deal.
Dancin My Safeway ran out of the FE kits (sale $2.50). Produce mgr & store mge are DUMB and DUMBER! I have a raincheck for 2 PLUS my 10% off produce J4U. I'll probably do the same w/some chicken & ground meat.
Most of my store sales start today but I wait until Thur or Fri to see what my local bloggers discover.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Sept 18, 2013 7:57:45 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. I think I know of a shelter or two that can use them (I moved back to CA after getting out of the military a few years ago. I remember a few shelters I donated to when I was a girl scout... I need to see if they are still around). Does anyone know why some shampoos have an expiration date? I think I saw that head & shoulders does. I don't want them thinking I am giving them trash that I wouldn't use (I would use it, it is just my family size =2 and we don't use stuff as fast as it was stockpiled). I didn't realize that H&S had a date on it and have no clue why it would. I never donate anything that is past whatever date is on the package. With that in mind, shampoo can be repurposed as liquid hand soap. Years ago I ran out of liquid hand soap and could not find any freebie deals for it. I thought about it and decided that soap was soap and have been using shampoo ever since, especially since I had a boatload of shampoo in my stockpile that I had gotten for free. Shampoo works great and smells good too!! My fav to use is VO5 because it comes in a variety of decorator colors.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Sept 18, 2013 8:00:41 GMT -5
Dancin My Safeway ran out of the FE kits (sale $2.50). Produce mgr & store mge are DUMB and DUMBER! I have a raincheck for 2 PLUS my 10% off produce J4U. I'll probably do the same w/some chicken & ground meat. Hi Holly!! I went in on Sunday night after picking up my coupon inserts and bought the last (3) Asian kits. Then I went to customer service and got a rain check for (8). Before the coupons expire, I will pick up (4) Mexican and (4) Asian!!
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Sept 18, 2013 8:04:20 GMT -5
dancinmama: That's the phrase, cherry picking !! My nickname's Fuzzy for a reason Although I had cherry picked for years, I had always called it 'shopping the ads' until someone used the term 'cherry picking' on the Grocery Challenge. I had to ask what it meant.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Sept 18, 2013 8:09:25 GMT -5
DANCI: There's one thing you have in CA that the East Coast doesn't have. Ethnic Markets with good prices. mrsdutt: Ya, between the 99 Cent Store and the ethnic markets, I can usually get whatever produce we need at a fraction of the cost of what I would pay at the national grocery chains. Because of that, the Grocery Outlet, and cherry picking everywhere, I am able to get most of what we need pretty darn cheaply.
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pepperdoo
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Post by pepperdoo on Sept 18, 2013 18:49:19 GMT -5
I went to the 99 cents only store today and got fresh produce for salads = Red bell peppers, 2 for 99 cents and Israeli cucumbers ( 5 to a pack). That would have been $5.00 at the main stores. I went to Grocery outlet and they had Silva Linguica for $2.99. No less than $6.00 each at the other stores.
So, now that my freezer is full, on to the meal planning for the next 3 months or more except for the milk, and other weekly needed items. Total, I've spent $97.00 for 3 months worth of stock, including the dish soap for 12 months.
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NoNamePerson
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Post by NoNamePerson on Sept 18, 2013 19:52:38 GMT -5
To me stockpiling means if I drop dead my son and DIL will have a lot of crap to deal with, therefore, I don't stockpile. Oh wait, I did buy two of my shampoo the other day cause it was on sale.
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pepperdoo
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Post by pepperdoo on Sept 18, 2013 21:05:51 GMT -5
Another option has now fully opened up for me. Our Super Wal Mart is finally done. I am really happy about it I am loyal to my pocket book, not to any given store.
I plan to enjoy every bit of savings and cook up a storm this year. I think I am finally over my last little hump now. Time to kick back, relax and thoroughly just enjoy myself. No just surviving for me. What's the use of doing all this saving if you can't enjoy yourself, be able to help out others and celebrate, or you are just doing it to get by?
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MonicaLee5186
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Post by MonicaLee5186 on Sept 19, 2013 20:21:44 GMT -5
I really wish I still has access to farmer's markets and grocery outlets -- when we moved to PA from FL I lost all opportunities for cheap produce! My only options here are Weis or ShopRite. I refuse to shop at Walmart unless I am absolutely forced to. None of our dollar stores sell produce. I love my stockpile! It's kind of a joke in my family but when someone needs any HBA items they come looking for me! I will definitely continue to stockpile hard as we are thinking about having kids soon and that will help cushion some of the financial shock of having kids
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marvholly
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Post by marvholly on Sept 20, 2013 7:09:26 GMT -5
Another option has now fully opened up for me. Our Super Wal Mart is finally done. I am really happy about it I am loyal to my pocket book, not to any given store.
My Super Walmart is 'supposed' to open spring/summer 2014. My problem now is the blogger I follow who did TONS of Walmart posts has taken a FT job & wil not be posting as much/often/many deal scenarios/coupon matchups.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Sept 20, 2013 15:37:18 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. I think I know of a shelter or two that can use them (I moved back to CA after getting out of the military a few years ago. I remember a few shelters I donated to when I was a girl scout... I need to see if they are still around). Does anyone know why some shampoos have an expiration date? I think I saw that head & shoulders does. I don't want them thinking I am giving them trash that I wouldn't use (I would use it, it is just my family size =2 and we don't use stuff as fast as it was stockpiled). Some shampoos might have an "expiration date" because they have some sort of an 'active ingredient' some something that may slowly loose it's potency. Dates on things aren't always 'expiration dates' - where they become useless or dangerous. I'd still donate the shampoos (with dates) and let the shelter decide what they want to do with it. Odds are they have dealt with this issue before and will have guidelines. The "expired" H&S might still be perfectly good shampoo - even if it can't deliver the "dandruff free" or whatever thing it's suppose to do. There was just a bunch of on-line articles about the dates on food and other products - being confusing to consumers - they aren't "drop dead dates" or "throw it away it will KILL you" dates. Most productions are good for a long time after the "date stamp" -- (Yeah yeah,milk products go bad --- but if they've been stored properly the entire time they should be safe and good to use 10 days AFTER the sell by date. Same thing with eggs - if they've been stored properly they will be fine for several weeks (often longer) beyond the 'sell by date'). ADDED: meant to also say that deodoarants usually have a 'use by' or 'best by' date. the product still works after that date but it may start to loose potency. It should still be good to use for several months (or more). So a brand new deodorant that's 2 months past it's "used by date" is still usable in my world - I'd probably discard it if it was 12 or more months past it's 'use by date'. I try to work my stockpile so I'm using things up before they are more than a year past their 'date stamp' -- well, other than dairy and eggs. I've gotten better at keeping my stockpiled stuff at an appropriate level for my usage... so I now rarely have things in my cupboards that are past their 'use by date'. I may currently be using some products that are past their dates (I know the deodorant I'm using is past it -- it's the last one in my old stockpile of the nearly free purchases from well over a year ago) but the rest of the stuff in my stock pile is up to date. I just stocked up on a years supply of new deodorants thanks to the 'back to school sales' and a couple of coupons - all have experition dates are 9 to 18 months out into the future. Since I ran down my stockpile to 0 I'll easily use the 'older' new ones before their 'use by dates'
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MonicaLee5186
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Post by MonicaLee5186 on Sept 21, 2013 12:32:49 GMT -5
Thank goodness I looked at the flyers one last time before tossing them this morning -- how did I miss ShopRite having bags of shredded cheese for .99 !? They usually do this sale once or twice a year so I would have been upset to have missed it. I stocked up on 32 bags of mozzarella, cheddar, taco mix, and pizza mix cheese. I use shredded cheese a lot -- quesadillas, tacos, ziti, casseroles, omelets ... etc. so this was a big money saver for me! I love my stockpile!!!
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rubyslippers
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Post by rubyslippers on Sept 21, 2013 19:57:10 GMT -5
To me, stockpiling means I do not have to run out and get something paying top dollar for it because I am out of it. We don't have a grocery store in our little town so that means driving a distance to get our food. When I started couponing, I was lucky the stores were very generous with rewards and I stockpiled a lot of non-food items. Now I am trying to stockpile the items for my pantry and/or freezer and trying to determine how much of an item I'll need for the season. This year I got enough free or cheap baked beans that lasted us throughout the cook-out season. I recently acquired enough spaghetti sauce at a very reduced price and that should last us until the summer. Crackers are on my cherry picking list for next week.
Stockpiling also means I can donate to our food pantry and I do not always donate food. They like toiletries, paper towels etc... It also means I can swap with my sister, who also stockpiles.
The most difficult part of my shopping is trying to get really good sales on produce and lucky for me, Walmart price matches all ads in our surrounding area. Aldi had 5 lb. bags and 3 lb. bags of onions each for $.99 and milk for $1.49 a gallon this week. Last week I went to a store and got eggs for $.39 a dozen and I picked up 4 dozen. We recently got our beef from a farmer so I'm mainly cherry picking the rest of the stuff.
MonicaLee: That's a good price on cheese. Last year I got several bags of cheese for $.38 each. I don't think I'll be as lucky this year.
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mrsdutt
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Post by mrsdutt on Sept 22, 2013 12:16:43 GMT -5
MONICA: Great find on cheese. RUBY: You amaze me with your shopping trips! I found pure frozen veggies at the $ store. I don't have much room left in the freezer so only got 2 bags. Large bags! It looks like we are all still on our mission, but have altered the tactics!
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Peace77
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Post by Peace77 on Sept 23, 2013 7:31:06 GMT -5
Thank you for donating TP and sanitary supplies Patstab. Most people don't think of those items. Many people that use food banks get food stamps but they don't pay for those items. Fresh potatoes are good too. They last a long time so the food bank can give them out before they spoil. Bless you.
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constanz22
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Post by constanz22 on Sept 23, 2013 16:09:07 GMT -5
Actually, after I read the post of what you had donated, I was going to suggest diapers for donation. A lot of the low income clients I work with struggle to pay for diapers, and most charities will only give a few, like a day or two's worth, not even a package.
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