Yesterday was the annual Mail Carrier’s Food Drive. As with the previous, um, 6 or 7 years I spent a couple of hours at the local food pantry checking expiration dates. Food donations seem to be up slightly this year but the amount of expired food is about the same. 😛 The oldest can I found had expired in 1996. It wasn’t helping that my fellow inspectors didn’t have a clue. I spent a good portion of my day fishing good food out of the dead food boxes because neither of them could find expiration dates on the containers. I even explained to them a number of times how not all manufacturers date their products and they were to use their judgment as to whether or not to keep the item. One of them challenged me, insisting that we aren’t allowed to take food without a date on it. *rolls eyes* If stores are allowed to sell it we can take it. If you can’t figure out whether or not it’s good then give it to me. I’ve done this gig long enough to know.

Other than that my time at the pantry went well. I got to hang out with some old friends, crocheting, while we waited for the first mail trucks to arrive. It was a good time.