No, I wouldn't donate expired canned goods to a food pantry. If I won't eat it myself, I'm not going to send it to a charitable organization to feed it to someone too poor to buy enough food to feed themselves and their family. When you donate food that you would no longer eat, it's like you're giving this charity your trash. It is an insult to the staff and the recipients and a waste of their time to sort it and an insult to their hopes, to have as much food as they need. How much harder for this group to throw out food, knowing there are people who will go hungry. Should the shoe ever be on the other foot, and you need help, you'll certainly hope that donors were considerate enough to send food that is still considered viable.

I don't donate hugely expensive items, I donate items that are versatile. Before some of the food collection days, like when the postal workers pick up canned goods, or the fire department in my town, I go through my shelves and look for things that I have extras of, and if I don't have much, I'll make a trip to the grocery. I select things that go into other dishes, like cans of tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, canned vegetables (if it's the holiday season I'll include canned pumpkin), and cans of soup. I often also add bags of rice and beans. Canned fish like tuna, mackerel, or salmon add excellent protein to a diet, and with the huge variety of people who must do their "shopping" in the food pantry, there will be people who know how to cook with these items. I consider them healthier than donating prepared foods like canned ravioli or spaghetti or other high-sugar high-fat low-nutrition kinds of food. I always include a few cans of fruit.

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It isn't charity if you're "donating" trash to an organization. Make the gift from your heart, send the food to the donation site and wish the recipients well. Don't booby trap dinner, sending your expired Chef Boyardee to give some small child food poisoning because the can was too old for you to eat. Don't send anything at all if you can't do it with the best wishes for the recipients.

Thats awful...I would not donate expired food, its better not to donate at all because sometimes people can get sick. I do eat something that has expired 3 days (but 91???) sometimes like yougurt but if I won't eat it then I would not give it away.

I do not know if cans never expire...that is a scary thought all together.

Yes I have donated food before and it was always good.

No, I wouldn't donate expired food to any charity. I try to put myself in the shoes of the other person. How would I feel about getting this item? If I lost my home to fire or other disaster or was without food I would hope that people would be charitable and humane enough to give me food that they would consider eating. I'm not talking about "brand name" items but, foods that have not expired and is commonly eaten by most people.

I think there are enough people in need of food that most charities (food shelters) are probably running out of food items without having to toss expired items donated by thoughtless individuals. But, being on the cautious side I have to think maybe they didn't check the dates before donating.

I would never donate food that was expired. We often donate to our church at least once a month and I always make sure the cans are not expired. I would not give food to someone that I would not eat. Even if it does say sell by a certain date or best used by this date I still would not give it away to charities ar anyone else.
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Yes. Most food that has an expiration date has expired because the quality has been reduced beyond the consumers expectations. That doesn't mean that the product is no longer edible. In fact, most processed food no longer has an "expiration date." Rather, the packaging will use a "sell by" or "best if used by" date. Donate away!