If you set "item-despawn-rate:" to "8000" then items will appear on ground if you use a command like give. You still get the item from the give, but an extra is created on the ground. You cannot pick it up but if you have a hopper underneath where it drops the hopper will pick it up and then you can get the item.

I first thought this only was a client error and that the item never really existed, but after trying it many times myself, I figured this actually works. However setting the "item-despawn-rate" back to 6000 (or lower) will fix the issue.

Look at this gif for a demonstration:
http://giphy.com/gifs/l2YSl1BmRldTns568