The stores are required to dispose of the expired and “damaged” stuff, thank you FDA.
Gifting it early is a corporate decision and then someone wants it written off for taxes .
Its really a mess. For a period of time I was gifting @30+ gallons of milk a week to a local food bank. They could accept it as it hadn’t expired yet, and they threw it in the freezer to make it last longer.
Had we tried to get permission, it would have been denied because an extra day to possibly sell it was more important than letting it be useful. We cheated.
Talk with your local grocery department manager, they might give the soon to be bad stuff you at a reduced price, or free depending.
One of the biggest issues with giving it away, is that it has to go away. And when people don’t come to get the stuff right away, it tends to cause some issues.