I go to two different food banks here. They don't require proof of income, just that you fill out paperwork. They don't let you choose either, but the one has meat and dairy. It also has a section where you can pick and choose anything that is on the table and in the fridge. Oftentimes there's a lot of salad mixes, potatoes and bread. We take what we need, and the box they give us has a well-balanced assortment of foods, unlike the other place, where I've gotten about 6 cans of green beans once, and a bunch of cans of corn. I eat them of course, but they could give a better selection sometimes. That place sometimes has fresh vegetables though, right from the farmer's fields, like ramps, yellow onions, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, and they're all fresh. But that's usually only during the growing season in the summer.