Re: Is this a waste?

CatsyCline · ‎07-24-2013

one thought is to bring the flowers to a cemetary. there is a veterans cemetary nearby and there is a small chapel and marked sections for all the armed forces, women veterans etc. and there are tiny gravestones from a century ago when it was set up for a state asylum. some have just a number :-(

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

So OP - are you going to take responsibility for being the one to go to the grocery store and retrieve those flowers for donation.We pick up day old bread and baked goods for the food bank and we have to be at the grocery store at 6AM , before they open to do so, 7 days a week. Also, are you going to be responsible to take all those flowers around to the various nursing homes? There is so much more to do than just once in a while go & get some flowers. You have to make a commitment to doing it and show up no matter what to get it done. They won't continue to save them for you if you aren't there every day to get them. They won't tolerate rotting flowers lying around.

Bestdressed · ‎04-18-2010

@151949 wrote:
So OP - are you going to take responsibility for being the one to go to the grocery store and retrieve those flowers for donation.We pick up day old bread and baked goods for the food bank and we have to be at the grocery store at 6AM , before they open to do so, 7 days a week. Also, are you going to be responsible to take all those flowers around to the various nursing homes? There is so much more to do than just once in a while go & get some flowers. You have to make a commitment to doing it and show up no matter what to get it done. They won't continue to save them for you if you aren't there every day to get them. They won't tolerate rotting flowers lying around.

@151949 Yes, as stated in post 19, I would be willing to pick up the flowers on a schedule and deliver them to the various nursing homes.

My question for you since you volunteer at a food bank. How do you get your donations for day old bread? Do you ask the stores for donations or do they volunteer the goods? How does the store know the bread is being used only at the food bank? Does your large grocery store chain donate anything to the food bank? Do you have to show some id to prove you are non-profit? My fight will be with a large company and I need to think this scenerio out . Any info on the procedure would be appreciated.

MacDUFF · ‎05-29-2015

@Bestdressed

What a kind and generous idea! I'd like to know how it turns out...I might try it in my neighborhood.

It's true, though, that you'll have to jump heaven knows how many hurdles the bureaucrats will put up to complicate the matter. You might be able to arrange a once or twice a week pick-up...say a few days after the day(s) fresh flowers are delivered to the store.

~~~ I call dibs on the popcorn concession!! ~~~

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

@Bestdressed wrote:
@151949 wrote:
So OP - are you going to take responsibility for being the one to go to the grocery store and retrieve those flowers for donation.We pick up day old bread and baked goods for the food bank and we have to be at the grocery store at 6AM , before they open to do so, 7 days a week. Also, are you going to be responsible to take all those flowers around to the various nursing homes? There is so much more to do than just once in a while go & get some flowers. You have to make a commitment to doing it and show up no matter what to get it done. They won't continue to save them for you if you aren't there every day to get them. They won't tolerate rotting flowers lying around.
@151949 Yes, as stated in post 19, I would be willing to pick up the flowers on a schedule and deliver them to the various nursing homes.

My question for you since you volunteer at a food bank. How do you get your donations for day old bread? Do you ask the stores for donations or do they volunteer the goods? How does the store know the bread is being used only at the food bank? Does your large grocery store chain donate anything to the food bank? Do you have to show some id to prove you are non-profit? My fight will be with a large company and I need to think this scenerio out . Any info on the procedure would be appreciated.

Publix donates the baked goods but the food pantry MUST pick it up at 6AM every day.They will not store it for us, they don't want us there once the store is open for the day. Our commitment is 6 AM 7 days a week, unless on days like Thanksgiving and Christmas the store is closed. Fortunately we have enough volunteers to do it. When the bread is picked up we show our ID and have to sign a paper saying the items are going to be used 100% for a charity. Once at the church it is vital that our baked goods not ever be mixed in with anything the church buys for fund raising purposes. For instance we can't sell the donated donuts at the coffee hour after church or even give them away there. So - that would mean you could only take those flowers to a non profit organization - and most nursing homes are run at very high profit, so that would leave them out.

Puzzle Piece · ‎06-29-2010

Many businesses count the waste - it's a write of of some sort. Once counted, it cannot be anything but waste - maybe you could ask the IRS to change it's policy.

Never Forget the Native American Indian Holocaust

Bestdressed · ‎04-18-2010

@151949 Thanks for your response. It makes sense that the store would want the goods picked up before the store opens. Can I ask one more question? does Publix donate produce to the food bank too? It sounds like you really established a good system for the food bank. You are helping a lot of people.

@Puzzle Piece Companies also get deductions for donations. No need get the IRS involved. That is another subject with entirely too much red tape. lol ...not going there.

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

@Bestdressed wrote:
@151949 Thanks for your response. It makes sense that the store would want the goods picked up before the store opens. Can I ask one more question? does Publix donate produce to the food bank too? It sounds like you really established a good system for the food bank. You are helping a lot of people.

@Puzzle Piece Companies also get deductions for donations. No need get the IRS involved. That is another subject with entirely too much red tape. lol ...not going there.

No produce - just baked goods. We can only take what can be frozen if not used that day. Sometimes they give us large sheet cakes that say Happy Birthday and we have a monthly birthday bash for our clients kids on a Saturday and use those cakes. Kids who are poor really appreciate things like a birthday cake. It's amazing how many people order a cake then don't pick it up.

Deb1010yetagain · ‎12-09-2013

@Bestdressed wrote:
Thanks for all the suggestions. I tossed and turned last night thinking about all the waste in this country, that could be donated.

I am going to call some nursing homes in my area first, to see if they even want the flowers. Then, I will proceed to talk to the grocery store headquarters. This is just a drop in the bucket.

I have a friend that is a manager for a large cosmetic store chain. All their returns must be destroyed before throwing them out. There are cameras everywhere, to make sure this is being done. Again, some of these products were never taken out of the packages or used.

There should be some non-profit national website that store owners could log into, with items to be discarded. There should be a 24 hour time limit that non profit organization could pick up the goods before they are thrown out or destroyed.

I know there are reasons why the stores do this ... but there are starving people in our country. Obviously this bothered me much more, then just a bunch of flowers being thrown out.

@Bestdressed You have a big heart and good intentions. I'm sorry this is something you're losing sleep over, but it just shows what a dediczted person you are.

Bestdressed · ‎04-18-2010

@151949 wrote:
@Bestdressed wrote:
@151949 Thanks for your response. It makes sense that the store would want the goods picked up before the store opens. Can I ask one more question? does Publix donate produce to the food bank too? It sounds like you really established a good system for the food bank. You are helping a lot of people.

@Puzzle Piece Companies also get deductions for donations. No need get the IRS involved. That is another subject with entirely too much red tape. lol ...not going there.

No produce - just baked goods. We can only take what can be frozen if not used that day. Sometimes they give us large sheet cakes that say Happy Birthday and we have a monthly birthday bash for our clients kids on a Saturday and use those cakes. Kids who are poor really appreciate things like a birthday cake. It's amazing how many people order a cake then don't pick it up.

Now... that is a beautiful story. I am sure the Birthday cake is a very special gift for many children. Thank you for sharing. It sounds like anything that is perishable, that cannot be frozen or canned, isn't usually donated.

@Deb1010yetagain and everyone who posted Thanks, sometimes things we see just hits a cord in our soul.