Mildly Infuriating

My workplace used to donate all its leftover food to a local meal service charity, daily. But they refused to take fresh fruits and vegetables because they just spoil too fast. It was sad because those are the foods people need the most but they are logistically very difficult to deliver, as you are witnessing.

Tax Churches Into Oblivion. A society that runs off a charity is a society that doesn't function. Christians always side with the fascist when they come to power. The private businesses are the fascist. The United States supported the Nazis during World War II. This was all to weaken the Soviet Union. America is an imperialist empire and fascists are the useful idiots of empire. The bureaucracy is just basically how things work. And there are rules for things for a reason. Trump and Elon Musk love bureaucracy. They just want it to work for them. Capitalism is a wasteful system. It prioritizes the profit incentive and sometimes over producing and outpacing your competitor until you corner the market. Charity is just one way to manage perception especially if you get less taxes. It doesn't make sense on purpose because fulfilling people's needs is not its purpose. Charity is a business and it's not about helping people. Even if it's a Christian church. We no longer produce our own food, and big agriculture is the only thing we got. We have enough to make sure people don't go hungry. But the capitalist wants you to go hungry. Or pay the highest price possible. But less than the guy down the street, that's competing with them. The nonsensical madness that surrounds me on the daily is just, it makes sense if you know how things work.

Trade it to a restaurant in exchange for stuff they might have you actually want. Shouldn't be hard to move tomato and onion

it would be kinda cool if food panties could also pickle + can things

Contract mutual aid orgs they well come get it

GOOD! Spending money on that is SOCIALISM! Is would MUCH Rather my Tax Dollars go into Elon Musks BANK ACCOUNT!

You might try contacting restaurants and see if they have the capacity to cook ketchup (or something else with a longer shelf life) from the tomatoes. Technically, everybody can do that. I’m thinking of restaurants because of their bigger pots.

Speaking of restaurants: They might have a food dehydrator that can process some of the cauliflower, as well.

This happens ( was exposed) at our local foodbank. (London, UK)

For the watermelons you might try to contact a local vintner. They may be able to process them into wine and/or liquor.

Second the pickling idea. Read a similar story that a food bank had a lot of excess fresh material. Thry had set up production through a commercial food processing site, had put labels on them, and were selling them online and at farmer's markets. The proceeds were going back to the food bank. Zero wastage. They were also making things like sauerkraut, kimchee, and kombucha. Watermelon can also be juiced and the rinds pickled.

I imagine for food safety and liability reasons, you wouldn't want to do it in someone's kitchen. Plus, licensing fees. But you have a great story to tell (good health, zero waste, help food bank).

Quick search since you mentioned NM: https://www.newmexicofma.org/food_processing_permits.php

I worked in the produce department at Jewel-Osco for some time. It was when I peaked in life. We never gave food away to anyone. It was either sold or found its way into the trash compactor. Kinda sad to waste so much food. But I was so lost in the produce sauce that I couldnt even process it

I work for a produce delivery company as a courier and yeah fresh produce is ass for storage and transit. I'm legit thinking about jury rigging a small air conditioner into the back of my truck for summer cooling.

Have you seen if there's any way for your foodbank to do canning?