OK... I'm all for well-intentioned causes, but the Super Bowl inspired "Purchase our sack of groceries we put together and will send to people in need" program, I saw at Tom thumb is seriously lacking. I considered purchasing one of these pre-filled sacks......
UNTIL I saw some of the things it contained. Cupcakes, olives, high sugar content cereal, 'fancy' brand fettucini, etc. I located only one bag that had a canned vegetable as a component. In most all of the bags were items you would not consider to be nutritious for someone who is truly hungry. Here's a picture of the only 2 contents I found in one bag (French Vanilla Creamer and Chopped Pecans - Really ?):
I asked the highest ranking official at the store about this, and basically he said they put in the bags what they have in their inventory -meaning to me - those items that aren't selling well. I never got the impression that the store (or company) requested a list of needed items, and that the sacks were filled with those items requested.
IF I had bought the bag without paying attention to what was inside, I would also have been paying FULL retail price for these items. A great deal for the store - let's get rid of our slow-movers without having to discount the price under the guise of charitable giving. PERHAPS a little cynical on my part, but probably not far from the truth.
The grocery guy also said there was a 'code' on their checkouts that allowed you to make a charitable purchase via cash and the store would send the money directly to the food bank or wherever. I've never seen these and I asked why isn't this option displayed at the checkout lines where people can see it? I'm thinking more people might donate if they had this option. While Tom Thumb was certainly displaying it's prepackaged sacks on the counters at checkout, there was NO information regarding providing a cash donation that would be forwarded to the people who KNOW what is needed.
I will probably fire off some correspondence to Tom Thumb directly on this. I'll let you know if my REWARD CARD has been revoked. And that's JUST HOW I SEE IT !!!! Thanks to Caroline for the opportunity.
Thank you, Fred, for getting that off your chest so I don't have to hear about it for the rest of the afternoon.
Right on! The best way to contribute to the hungry is to donate cash or a few hours of your time directly to the North Texas Food Bank. It's worth a visit if you've never been.
ReplyDeleteAgreed!!
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