Benton County Food Bank, Warsaw MO

I just want to know has anyone got sick from the chicken given out at food bank? Because I and others have.

So I go to this place all the time I have severe anxiety and I never try to take what I don't need we don't always go to this place but whenever we're running more food we do I married and I have a daughter who is now 18 months old few weeks ago maybe a month or so ago I went to go get food like usual and the gal at the front desk who is very sweet by the way told me I could take something off the table but only one item so I took one of the items that I thought my daughter might like I decided I didn't want it so if they could take it back I even asked one of the ladies in the car that was next to me if she wanted it for her kids and she said no so I took it home and I decided to place it on the marketplace and hopes that somebody could use it and that the little extra money could help my family we live on one social security check a month and having a one-year-old at the time that's just not a lot of money it's my husband myself and my daughter and we take care of my mother-in-law who had a stroke last year well I got a message from somebody who supposedly works there turns out she does work there and she was very ignorant and hateful and said that I need to return that item immediately that I had no right putting it on the marketplace and that I was apparently violating one of their rules that I was not aware of it she made it out to be that I was feeling from them and making money off of it for my own personal benefit made me feel very insecure about myself and I had a total meltdown so overall satisfaction of this place I really do enjoy going there but that one person just made it completely unenjoyable

I visited the Warm House & found 2 next to new Fleece Pull Overs, also it was my lucky day because they were on Sale

It's a true shame that all the food donated got to people who needed it rather than being taken home by the workers. I have seen people given moldy rotten food while the volunteers put 4 frozen turkeys in their auto trunk

It’s okay if you’re absolutely starving but other than that, try going somewhere else. Last two times I’ve went I have gotten chunky expired milk and lots of moldy can goods and bread. They don’t even look at dates, got some meat from January.

My experience with this food pantry has been decidedly mixed.

On the plus side, they tend to hand out a generous amount of food, occasionally with items of surprising quality mixed in. A few years ago, they gave me a huge piece of salmon one month, and steak another month. They often hand out a fair mix of packaged, canned, and fresh food — including quite a bit of fresh produce, including potatoes which I can get a lot of mileage out of. Recently they've begun to throw in extra non-food items as well, such as face masks and sunscreen.

However, they take no consideration for people who may not have refrigeration or means to cook all of the foods they hand out. I've gotten a lot of items from them which usually require a functioning oven to cook, which I do not have. Much of it also requires refrigeration, and I do not have a working refrigerator — a not so uncommon predicament among people who have to go to a food pantry. But my last trip was particularly disappointing, as a large portion of the produce I was given was already beginning to rot, and I've had to throw out about a quarter of it already. When I mentioned to them that the potatoes in particular we're starting to go bad, which was visually apparent at a casual glance, they wouldn't do anything about it.

But the biggest black mark on this food pantry is how they shut down at the drop of a hat when the pandemic hit — right when people were starting to go through hard times and they were needed the most. And while I am very much in favor of taking the pandemic seriously, they seem to go overboard well beyond precautions that make sense, and well beyond recommendations — even now that vaccination is well underway and the pandemic is coming to a close. The biggest issue being their restrictive hours — they are open only two days a week now, and during hours that most people work, which presents logistical problems for struggling people who might not be able to go during those hours.

In short, it seems like the people managing this food pantry mean well on some level, but they seem to be either detached or unconcerned with the real conditions struggling people face — at least unconcerned enough that they would hand out rotten food that could be a potential health hazard — all while going through a performative dance of health and safety with respect to the pandemic. Don't get me wrong, the food pantry absolutely does some good, but they seem to be mostly concerned with giving the appearance of helping, which can leave the people who depend on them unable to consistently rely on that resource.

These are good people serving a very definite need in our community. Thanks to everyone involved

Best food bank I've ever seen! They give lots of food and are so kind and helpful. Ty for helping my family.

If your low on funds and you need something to eat to get you by this is the place very friendly and helpful service