Are tithes allowed to be food items in the Mormon church? I know that the Mormon church requires members to tithe regularly. Otherwise, their membership may be restricted, until they tithe. My question is, do members have to tithe in money? Are they allowed to tithe in food items? Maybe a Mormon has a garden of orange trees in his or her backyard, and decides to tithe 10% of the yield to the church. Would the church put a minimum requirement on the quality of the oranges, or is the mere existence of the orange sufficient? Maybe a Mormon is very good at cooking and prepares a wonderful dish of casserole for the church. Are prepared foods allowed? Can they serve as a replacement for tithing in money?
As in the Bible, tithes in the LDS Church were once commonly paid in-kind, that is in livestock, crops, land, etc.

Nowadays, tithing is usually paid with money because (1) that is what most people earn (2) it is easiest to account for and (3) financial contributions are easiest to process/use. (You can't build a church out of oranges.)



That said, the LDS church does accept donations in kind.

LDS Church Donations-in-Kind Office


Address:

Donations-in-Kind Rm 1514

50 E North Temple

Salt Lake City, UT 84150
Phone: 800-453-3860 ext 2-2554, or 801-240-2554
Fax: 801-240-2202
Email: donationsinkind@ldschurch.org


Most often, though, these these will be stocks, bonds, or real estate.



If someone wants to make a local donation (e.g. oranges):


Give the donation to the local bishop.
The bishop sends to the Donations-in-Kind office a letter stating the donor, the date, the description of the item, and the approximate value (for tax and accounting purposes).




As far as quality/quantity, it's the same as in the Bible: give God the best of what you have.

Genesis 4:4


  And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering


Exodus 12:5


  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats


Also, it's worth mentioning that the LDS Church has very little to say about the details of tithing (before or after taxes, personal business, etc), other than it is "10% of increase/income." No further statement or clarification has been made.