Why didn't the son just donate the dry pasta to a food bank?

[no_hypocrisy]

Dried pasta doesn't necessarily go bad at room temperature in a dry cupboard.

https://www.nj.com/news/2023/05/nj-pasta-dump-son-caught-on-camera-dumping-moms-macaroni-neighbors-say.html

[Croney]

1. Depends on how it was stored. If there were no boxes with expiration dates,

it could not be donated. Maybe she kept it in big bins... but who does that? A hoarder, maybe.

[Lunabell]

2. It was probably infested with vermin and droppings.

Hoarders are not clean. And maybe the guy was overwhelmed. Hoarding situations are pretty disgusting to deal with. My sister's ex-mil was one. You couldn't go anywhere in her house because of all the boxes and junk up to the ceiling. It was really strange to me as a kid when we went there once. Smelly, roach and rat infested in a very nice suburb of Nashville.

[dembotoz]

13. overwhelmed is right

a box or two just dump in the trash

half a garage of the stuff would take a number of weeks of full trash bin to get rid of ....and live bugs move around.

used to live in an apt complex that had dumpsters. It was not uncommon for a van to pull up and fill up a dumpster with assorted trash.

[3catwoman3]

15. One of my late mother's dear friends was a hoarder.

After the friend died, her son took on cleaning out the garage. He left the contents of the house for his sister, also a hoarder, to deal with.

Among things he found in the garage were bags of dryer lint. His mother had been saving this to put out for bird to use as nesting material.

The friend died in 2019. Last I knew, the sister had not disposed of anything from the house. The siblings are seriously estranged.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

3. Might go against local or state food safety regs, but....

it could go to a local composting group or company.......

Also, some dried grain products contain a bit of seed oil that can go rancid. Not necessarily harmful but just smells weird.

[bucolic_frolic]

4. Maybe it was full of bugs

Like the mealy worms that get into old rice or flour

[Floyd R. Turbo]

10. Yep! I found a box of pasta in the back of the pantry that had expired a year ago. It was loaded

those guys! 🤢

[2naSalit]

5. Just dumping...

Food outside it stupid. Dispose of it properly in the garbage. Wildlife can get into it and suffer great harm.

[Trueblue Texan]

6. Could be a lot of reasons....

…the food may have been long past it’s expiration date, could have bee infested with bugs, could have smelled like pet urine—I’ve seen homes where EVERYTHNG smelled like pet urine. But he could have thrown it in the trash. It was way too much to put in home compost bin. Not a pretty story.

[Blues Heron]

7. Long ago expired probably

[electric_blue68]

16. That's what I was thinking. Still not exactly a good thing

[SouthernDem4ever]

8. He is obviously NOT a Pastafarian

[gibraltar72]

9. Much like cleaning out my parents garage.

there were many many tins of baking chocolate and bags of flour. I asked my dad why. He said every time I went to store she told me to get them. When I said dad she hasn't baked for years. His answer it was better than fighting with her.

[Historic NY]

11. What else is he dumping is his mother hoarded pasta?

[Sneederbunk]

12. I was thinking it was a labor dispute at Olive Garden.

[Fla Dem]

14. My first thought as well.

My only thought would be it was out of date or had been removed from it's original packaging. Having volunteered at a food pantry, I know we would not have accepted it.

[SharonClark]

17. I hope the guy gets charged with illegal dumping.

There is no excuse for his behavior.