"Here, have my leftovers! I was just gonna throw it out anyway!" Jeez.

In general, what charities need most is money. That's especially true not just for food banks, but for relief agencies. Money allows them to buy what people need and stimulate the local economies where people need it. A lot of people really mean well when they want to donate goods -- we get requests like that from time to time where I work -- but most charities are not set up to handle in-kind donations. Cash is where it's at!