Talk:Tag:amenity=give box

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Tag:amenity=give box article and its related topics.
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Also for food

I don't agree that amenity=give_box can't be used for food. The replacement you suggested - food banks [amenity=social_facility + social_facility=food_bank] are something completely different. They are facilities with service.

In my city there are around 20 community fridges. It's a fridge where one can leave or take food. There are some rules for it, like no meat can be left, but generally it works exactly like give_box.

I used to tag them as amenity=fridge before this tag was approved, but I'm going to retag them as amenity=give_box because it fits perfectly here. maro21 17:50, 17 January 2021 (UTC)

@Maro21: You might want to join the food sharing discussion. --—Preceding unsigned comment added by ToastHawaii (talk • contribs)

Your idea of a new tag like amenity=fridge (or perhaps amenity=refrigerator?) sounds perfect, why not use that? It's much more specific than "give box" which as the pictures show is not refrigerated and is for general non-perishable goods, not for perishable foods. Similarly we map a shop which sells clothing differently than a shop which sells fresh fruits and vegetables. Perhaps also add a tag like fresh_food_donation=yes to show that this refrigerator is for donating food, not just for storing your own food like at a campsite or hostel or hotel. --Jeisenbe (talk) 21:03, 17 January 2021 (UTC)

How to tag "big" give shops?

The article emphasizes on several occasions that this tag refers to **small** amenities. However, in many cities, you can find shop-sized (usually volunteer-staffed) amenities working on the same principle. They are inside buildings and often even span over multiple rooms. They are way more than "a small box or a shelf". How are these mapped correctly? Martianfreeloader (talk) 14:29, 1 September 2021 (UTC)

@Martianfreeloader: As I know, there is currently no approved tag for this type of amenity. Some use shop=charity or shop=second_hand with fee=no. --ToastHawaii (talk) 20:11, 6 September 2021 (UTC)

Sounds like this is a mappable object class with missing tag. How about introducing amenity=freeshop? Martianfreeloader (talk) 20:59, 6 September 2021 (UTC)

+1 for a separate tag like amenity=freeshop and -1 for shop=* + fee=no, as that means an ordinary shop without admission fee. (Yes, there are shops where you have to pay to enter, e.g. wholesalers and a few shopping malls.) --Dafadllyn (talk) 16:45, 7 September 2021 (UTC)

I've created amenity=freeshop. Martianfreeloader (talk) 09:51, 11 September 2021 (UTC)

How to tag donation bin /drop box?

Similar but not the same as an amenity=give_box are donation drop boxes (https://www.flickr.com/photos/jeepersmedia/14677129428) -- sometimes operated by charity and sometimes operated by for-profits. In any case, is there a suggested tagging scheme for these dropoff-only type boxes? Osmedit (talk) 02:31, 28 November 2023 (UTC)

amenity=recycling + recycling:clothes=yes. --Martianfreeloader (talk) 21:36, 28 November 2023 (UTC)

What about tagging Seed box ?

In my local area, I can see some "Seed libraries" that shares some aspects of amenity=public_bookcase (see example https://i.imgur.com/K9EzfIm.png). They can be as simple as a box on a pole written "Seeds". Probably different of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed_library. How should we map them ? --Axi35 (Axi35) 16:35, 30 May 2025 (UTC)

amenity=give_box + seeds=only seems most coherent with existing tagging in my opinion. If you decide to use it, then it's probably a good idea to document seed=* tag. --Martianfreeloader (talk) 19:39, 30 May 2025 (UTC)

What about money-only give-boxes?

What about donation boxes in front of places of worship? Where one can only donate money (but not physical goods) to the temple e.g. saisen which only mentions the Japanese use-case, but in reality is commonly found near the entrance of temples belonging to Eastern religions. --LikhtarStar (talk) 00:46, 13 September 2025 (UTC)