Where I work, we have food pantries come in 4 times a week. I do everything I can to send them anything that might be usable and no longer salable product. It's simply a win-win in my book. They get stuff, less goes in our dumpster (and then land fill) and frankly it's easier for me as I don't have to carry it out to the dumpster.

When someone asked where the leftover food went, we always said to poor people. That meant the staff was taking it home. If we had a lot, we tried to find somewhere to take it. Not always without downfalls.

Obviously, they wouldn't send someone out for one hotel pan of pasta. If we had enough someone would show up to pick it up (that night if possible), or it was put in our walk-in labelled for them to pick up the next morning. It was nothing that had ever left the kitchen. Mostly, it was pasta or chicken. Cooked but needed reheating, I made many a free meal on the same.

good story

One problem is that it isn't as easy as it sounds for some places with unsaleable foods to donate it. I don't know if it is state laws or federal laws, but there is a lot of food that you just can't donate because of health/safety laws. I am always upset to think that it is better for someone to eat from a dumpster than to get food before it is thrown in there.

I think that the thing that bothered me the most was that at the food pantry, we had to throw away any canned goods that were past the "sell by" dates. I know that this food is still good, since I use expired foods at home all the time.

i know a few chicken keepers who have a regular dumpster route to get food for them. others get produce where they shop.
this is a great way to keep food from going to waste, but at the same time not having to worry about the "purity" of what you bring home.

also know a few who collect groundfall fruit from neighbors fruit trees. i got some really nice pears last year from one of them. i ate/dehydrate the good ones myself and the girls pigged out on the rest.

there are tons of fruit trees around here that barely get picked.