The (expiry) Dating Game

Alice, Anita, Clara and Georgeta went to Foodshare Maidenhead this morning. We met at the venue along with other volunteers, we had a quick induction and then given our roles.

The GoodGym-ers were assigned to play the (expiry) Dating Game. This involved meeting loads of crates packed with food and sorting each individual item by the expiry date into Truly expired, Only just expired, Expiring as we speak, Expiring soon and Expiring next year or afterwards, while labelling them at the same time. So we had to get up close and personal with each packet, jar, bottle, can, sachet, etc. hunting for the sometimes well-hidden expiry date.

We quickly learned what our favourites were. Anita liked the larger jars and cans, Clara told us that the noodle packets were best avoided, Alice had to leave earlier so we didn't find out what her likes were, while I preferred the more intriguing and exciting world of tiny packets of spices. All in all, we’ve dated 23 crates of food, ending on a high with a crate of rice pudding for dessert! We were assured that even if appearing a bit tedious at first, this is a very important task and our contribution was very much appreciated and they have more exciting tasks awaiting for us!