How and why food pantries deliver meats past their sell-by date
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Food pantries across the Mid-South are seeing higher turnout, prompting questions about the food’s quality when items are distributed past their expiration dates.
A box of lemon pepper rotisserie chicken picked up Saturday morning at the Mid-South Food Bank’s mobile pantry had a best-by date of November 16,2024, raising concerns from the recipient about whether the food was safe to eat.
“I was thinking, why is they giving that chicken away, and the expiration date is that far,” the recipient said.
Nicole Willis with the Mid-South Food Bank says chicken from their pantry are quickly frozen after purchase and remain safe to consume even after a year past it’s best-by date.
“Most meats you can freeze up to a year, and they can still be good. As long as they haven’t been defrosted, and they don’t have a funny smell,” says Willis. “No it may not be fresh like your grocery store, but we understand going into it.”
Willis says food pantries like Mid-South Food Bank rescue food from stores like Kroger and Walmart that is still safe to eat but less likely to sell at the grocery aisle.
“When we put it in our warehouse and store it in the freezer, as long as that follows food safety regulations, then we’re able to get that food out the door,” Willis says.
She adds recipients should still check their food for spoilage. While the food bank closely follows USDA regulations, there is a chance food could become contaminated once it leaves their facility.
“I will assure you that we’ve gotten it in there as soon as possible in our freezer and taken it back out, but I also encourage them to take it out, defrost it. If they do not feel comfortable eating it, reach out to us. We’ll do the best we can,” Willis says.
Willis says the box of chicken distributed Saturday is almost certainly safe to eat.
Mid-South Food Bank also provided the below statement after Action News 5 reached out for comment.
Click here to sign up for our newsletter!
Click here to report a spelling or grammar error. Please include the headline.
Copyright 2025 WMC. All rights reserved.
