For Those Who Cater/Vend

CTMike · September 2017

A note for you guys that cater/vend:

If you have leftover food, please consider donating it to a local soup kitchen. You will help out those less fortunate by providing them a great meal, and you may even be able to take a tax write-off as a charitable contribution.
We had a big 3 day fair over the weekend and sold to 1082 customers (some of those were drinks only though). Needless to say we had a pretty big chunk of leftovers. My wife stopped in yesterday to inquire about donating, and watched as an individual asked for a second piece of fruit, and was told that they couldn't because they would run out. Heartbreaking.

So we have decided that we are going to partner with the community kitchen and provide them will all of our leftovers, and once a month provide 150 meals (pulled pork sammiches, beans, slaw, water, and maybe a couple cases of apples).

Sometimes it is too easy to focus on our own small problems and forget how good many of us have it.

Additionally, if anyone is interested I can send you a white paper from PWC concerning enhanced tax deductions for food donations to charitable organizations that feed the needy. Basically you can deduct your basis cost for the donated food, and half of the fair market value of your profit.

For example, if your cost basis of donated food is $500, and the fair market value if you had sold it is $1500, you could take a $1,000 enhanced deduction. The only limit is you can not deduct more than twice your basis cost. If interested, send me a message with an email address and I will send you the white paper.

Food for thought.

lousubcap · September 2017

Great information right there. Congrats on sorting it out and offering it up on the forum.

Eggdicted_Dawgfan · September 2017

Good for you Mike. Great thinking on your part to keep this good out of the trash and into a hungry belly. The soup kitchens are very humbling to say the least.

CTMike · September 2017

Eggdicted_Dawgfan said:

Good for you Mike. Great thinking on your part to keep this good out of the trash and into a hungry belly. The soup kitchens are very humbling to say the least.

Yes, a very humbling experience to walk in to a small community kitchen and see what a decent portion of the country's population is going through. Many of us take food as a given, and have never had to wonder where our next meal is coming from.

I will be speaking with my wife when I get home about committing 10% of the company's profits to the soup kitchen, as well as all of our viable leftovers.

Also we were surprised to learn that one of the things we donated that would be appreciated the most was the 4 cases of bottled water.

WeberWho · September 2017

Especially this Thanksgiving. My wife and I made an extra turkey and sides for a lady we connected with through a local food shelter last year. She was bawling after we stopped over with food. She didn't have anyone around to spend thanksgiving with. It only took an hour of our time. If you have an extra egg and find a few minutes to sneak out it's an awesome feeling helping out someone in need.

I'd love to see it turn into a throwdown this Thanksgiving!

six_egg · September 2017

@CTMike Thank you for this post. I always want to help my community. I do not have a BBQ or any type of business. I do have a strong desire to help. I have never passed on a chance to give to The Shriner's or St Jude. But I always feel I can do more. This might help me fill that need. Thank you again.

SGH · September 2017

six_egg said:

I have never passed on a chance to give to The Shriner's or St Jude.

God bless you brother. I have done the very same thing. I have gave to St. Jude's since I was a kid. Of course I couldn't give much when I was kid, but I still gave. Some of you that are old enough may remember this, in the very early 70's you use to see cardboard cards with slots in them that would hold nickels, dimes and quarters. They were pre-addressed to St. Jude's. If you mailed it in with a quarter or more in it, you received a necklace with a little Indian Chief made of beads. I wish that I would have kept all those necklaces just to see how many that I acquired.
I am a Shriner (JOPPA) myself. So on behalf of all Shriners, I say thank you for your support my friend.

Eggdicted_Dawgfan · September 2017

WeberWho said:

Especially this Thanksgiving. My wife and I made an extra turkey and sides for a lady we connected with through a local food shelter last year. She was bawling after we stopped over with food. She didn't have anyone around to spend thanksgiving with. It only took an hour of our time. If you have an extra egg and find a few minutes to sneak out it's an awesome feeling helping out someone in need.

I'd love to see it turn into a throwdown this Thanksgiving!

That's a great idea @WeberWho. Would love to be a part of this throwdown.

Eggdicted_Dawgfan · September 2017

CTMike said:

Eggdicted_Dawgfan said:

Good for you Mike. Great thinking on your part to keep this good out of the trash and into a hungry belly. The soup kitchens are very humbling to say the least.

Yes, a very humbling experience to walk in to a small community kitchen and see what a decent portion of the country's population is going through. Many of us take food as a given, and have never had to wonder where our next meal is coming from.

I will be speaking with my wife when I get home about committing 10% of the company's profits to the soup kitchen, as well as all of our viable leftovers.

Also we were surprised to learn that one of the things we donated that would be appreciated the most was the 4 cases of bottled water.

Very true Mike. when you don't have anything to look forward to day in and day out the simplest things in life are a big deal. Often overlooked by so many of us that have so much. I'm guilty of this myself at times but we are always looking for a way to help the needy. It just feels good.

The Cen-Tex Smoker · September 2017

CTMike said:

Eggdicted_Dawgfan said:

Good for you Mike. Great thinking on your part to keep this good out of the trash and into a hungry belly. The soup kitchens are very humbling to say the least.

Yes, a very humbling experience to walk in to a small community kitchen and see what a decent portion of the country's population is going through. Many of us take food as a given, and have never had to wonder where our next meal is coming from.

I will be speaking with my wife when I get home about committing 10% of the company's profits to the soup kitchen, as well as all of our viable leftovers.

Also we were surprised to learn that one of the things we donated that would be appreciated the most was the 4 cases of bottled water.

Atta boy, mike. Well done,sir

Hook_emHornsfan_74 · September 2017

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

CTMike said:

Eggdicted_Dawgfan said:

Good for you Mike. Great thinking on your part to keep this good out of the trash and into a hungry belly. The soup kitchens are very humbling to say the least.

Yes, a very humbling experience to walk in to a small community kitchen and see what a decent portion of the country's population is going through. Many of us take food as a given, and have never had to wonder where our next meal is coming from.

I will be speaking with my wife when I get home about committing 10% of the company's profits to the soup kitchen, as well as all of our viable leftovers.

Also we were surprised to learn that one of the things we donated that would be appreciated the most was the 4 cases of bottled water.

Atta boy, mike. Well done,sir

Was listening to xm this morning to the Z100 station out of New York (don't know why actually, never do) but they were talking about Operation BBQ relief and how awesome of a program they are.

caliking · September 2017

I wish I could "like " this more. Given our country's and society's excesses in general, you would be even more saddened to know how many kids go hungry on a daily basis in the US.

Kudos to you, sir. You inspired me to look for a way to contribute to my community too.

For Those Who Cater/Vend

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