EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Spoiled, expired or about-to expire-food is how some residents describe the quality of food they are receiving from the El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank.
One viewer sent our KTSM newsroom an email earlier this month, regarding the quality of the food she said she received from the food bank.
“The food bank provides essential support to low-income families like mine, but many of us are receiving food that either expires the next day or is spoiled. We appreciate the assistance, but it’s important to ensure that all families have access to safe, nutritious food,” the viewer’s email reads in part.
In addition to the email, the viewer also sent photos of food she said was spoiled.
The El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank sent KTSM a statement regarding these concerns:
“At El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank, ensuring food safety and quality is at the core of our mission. With thousands of individuals and families depending on us for nutritious meals, we take our responsibility seriously. We are consistently in compliance with audits conducted by local, state, and national government agencies, as well as scoring in the top 10% of our third-party food safety audits. These rigorous evaluations validate that we meet and exceed industry standards in safe food handling, storage, and distribution.
“There is often misunderstanding about food labeling, particularly ‘Best By,’ ‘Sell By,’ and ‘Use By’ dates. Many of these labels do not indicate food safety but rather peak quality, meaning that some food remains safe to consume beyond the printed date. We follow USDA and Feeding America guidelines to determine which products are safe for distribution.”
The food bank also refers the public to the USDA’s Food Product Dating page.
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