Why do people do that?

Keeper1

Razor wire and landmines

??

You must be kind but firm. Offering surplus veg is not an open invitation.

ha ha!!!!

Keeper1

Razor wire and landmines

Oh my! I'm usually such a pacifist...but this made me laugh out loud

I have a horror of people giving me things they no longer need (or want cluttering up their house) but which they are sure I will find useful?

Sorry?

Politely tell them you're busy, and gently shut the door!

Granmarderby10

pollyDolly you could put the veggie items outside in a suitable container and as for the knitting patterns/ any other unwanted items ..well how would anyone come to know about them in the first place?
Just leave a notice outside I suppose with details about how to get them?

We have a group FB page with was set up during the first lockdown to enable us to check in on one another remotely. If anyone has anything they're gifting we all put it on there. Everyone else respects the boundaries but there's always one exception. Don't misunderstand me, I wouldn't deliberately see any one lonely and actually the person in question has a better social life than anyone I know but she used to have coffee with one particular couple - uninvited - every Sunday; they tried making plans but she would still show up, often as they were getting ready, and disrupt all their plans. They were just too polite to say anything to her but they'd moan to everyone else - I vowed that I wasn't going down that route when they moved away but seemingly I am now her target because she likes free veggies!

Keeper1

Razor wire and landmines

Love it! Lol

Maybe they’re just being friendly and neighbourly.
My friend and neighbour often comes round with her own cup of tea.

Maybe they are lonely.

Reciprocation? I am not remotely a 'popper in', but I would feel a certain obligation to someone who offered to share a knitting pattern or gave me a gift of food, unless it was an 'over the fence' thing, rather than a gift given on my doorstep.

Also, if you aren't already on social terms the neighbour might have seen them as a way of reaching out, maybe because of loneliness, so the offer of coffee could have been made on those lines? I wouldn't read too much onto it, or go into full-on deterrence mode unless they become persistent - it was probably well-intentioned.

pollyDolly you could put the veggie items outside in a suitable container and as for the knitting patterns/ any other unwanted items ..well how would anyone come to know about them in the first place?
Just leave a notice outside I suppose with details about how to get them?

Razor wire and landmines