to be suffering food banking confusion

[ICBINEG]

So erm not earth shattering this one but:

I was trying to buy food for food banking but cannot figure out if I should buy basics/value stuff or just more of what I would buy myself.

If I buy non-value then that seems wrong because I could be buying more food for the same money...

If I buy value I feel like I am buying food for the bank that I apparently don't think is good enough for me and mine...

So erm what should I be doing and ideally how do I stop feeling like a bit of shit regardless of what I do....

Just ask what they need, they will be more than happy to tell you.
Our collectors always ask for uht milk, tinned meats and veg, pasta and other dried foods.

That probably did start it, Lovely. I'm sure she, and most people, do it for their own goon intentions. However, it just feels like homelessness tourism to me. Slightly like the Victorians going to Bedlam.

Adversecamber ~

There's nothing wrong with value foods, they are mostly the same as the 'normal' foods, just packaged differently so there's less money spent on pretty pictures.

My mum volunteers at a food bank. The people she meets really appreciate normal food - things that can go together to make a quick, filling, healthy meal.

Pasta, rice, tins of veg, meat and tomatoes or cooking sauces and tinned fruit.

At this time of year when all the schools are having harvest festivals people donate like crazy, which is great, but they get a lot of 'tins from the back of the cupboard' that people don't know what to do with. Also homemade jams/ chutneys and out of date food, none of which they are not allowed to give out.

They also give out things like toothpaste, toothbrushes, normal smellies/shower gel/deoderant (but not the smellies in a basket like your granny buys for Christmas).

Saying that any obscure stuff or poncy smellies can always be then taken to the church for the next Chtistmas tombola and the money is then donated straight back into the food bank. So everything is always used somehow!

As an aside, food banks are always desperate for volunteers - the people that come are often embarrassed, upset and simply down on their luck and they need a kind shoulder to cry on. So the more people they have on hand to help out, even if it is just packing bags with food, the more people they can help.

Inspired by this thread, I looked

Oops, posted by mistake.

Inspired by this thread, I looked up my local food bank but I was uncomfortable with the religious slant of the most obvious one. (Sorry, I don't mean to offend anyone here, but I live in a diverse area and it doesn't feel right.)

Can anyone point me towards any secular organisations doing similar work?

I did wonder about whether they have more success obtaining supplies this way than by just asking for donations .

They do lovelygoldboots. Strangely, people are more willing to spend £1 more on their weekly food shop by buying a few tins or some pasta, than they are to put £1 in a collection tin. This was told to me by the guy who runs our local food bank.

Food banks tend to have a religious angle something because they are mainly part of the trussel trust group network. However, not everyone involved (like me) is religious.

For donations, uht milk cartons are good and please don't buy enormous bags of rice/ pasta as we are not permitted to open and divide them up.

Thanks for answering, Ti.

Can I also ask if, in your experience, people from non-Christian religious backgrounds or agnostics/atheists feel equally able to ask for help? (I realise hunger is more immediate an issue than a sense of inclusion but I hope you know what I mean!)

My mum got involved through her church and a lot of people who volunteer there are members of congregations from around the area but there are also a lot of non-church people.

The people who come in for food are all sent by an organisation outside of the church and they just help whoever turns up. There is honestly no religious slant to the help given, they don't hand out bibles before they hand over the food it doenst matter who the customers are, they are simply hungry and need help.

We get food parcels for families we work with. The organiser told us they prefer not basic stuff but own brand stuff as they want people to feel valued. They don't turn basic stuff down though, just make sure it's shared out.

The food bank has helped so many families in the last few weeks ( we seem to have had a run on homeless families/individuals) and we are making a conscious effort to collect to give back.

They are a church run group but there's no religion in the parcels. The volunteers don't even see some of out families, we dish it out and families send thank yous via us. One volunteer cried last week when we gave her a pile of pictures drawn by a family to say thank you.

It was before food banks were the thing but when DS1 was little I was in a bad enough position to receive a food pack from social services. When you are struggling on that level you don't care if it's value, you just thank your lucky stars if you still have enough left on the meter/have not been cut off and can cook it. Though I understand they can't cut people with young children off now? Our local homeless shelter gives out food to people whose housing is compromised as well as looking after actually homeless people and they like people to include in their donations things that don't have to be cooked - tins of fruit, cereal and UHT milk, rice pudding pots etc as well as soup, beans and the usual.

the food bank our church runs is backed by the Trussell Trust. People can ask for help from any background, because they actually get referred to us by GP, Health visitor, social services etc. Most of the folk running the food bank do belong to our church, but there is no religious content to the food parcels. People come and pick them up, have a cuppa and a chat if they want, and go.

My grandmother recently had a man appear at her door asking for help. He said he and his DW had nothing to eat and no money for the next 4 days. She told him to come back in 1hr as she had to speak to my grandfather.

The man is new to the area and was told by locals that my grandparents were kind and would help . GF was the village couclilor for many decades.

She gave him enough for main meals (frozen pizza, homemade soup, homemade cottage pie and lasagna), bread, a box of cereal, tinned fruit, custard, tea, coffee, sugar and long life milk along with fruit and veg. She also gave them £10.

This has made me look into food banks in their area to discover there are none, the nearest source of emergency funding (crisis payments etc) is over 10miles away and too expensive for people in a true crisis to get there.

The local church is now looking into a way of helping but are also worried about how to know who is in genuine need? My grandparents have not heard from ths couple since.

Non-religious people ask for help just as much as others. The vouchers needed to get a box of food are handed out by non-religious groups/people (GPs/health visitors/Citizens Advice/etc), so it isn't a 'religious thing' from the perspective of the recipient.

The only bit I am not keen on is that the people handing out the boxes will sometimes offer to pray with the recipient. Since I have zero religious beliefs, I only pack up the boxes and avoid that whole part (as it seems very weird to me). However, it does apparently make many recipients feel better about things.

I know the people who started the Trussel Trust, which the food banks came out of and their main focus was and still is helping those who need help, irrespective of their background, religious beliefs (or lack of!) etc. Yes they themselves are Christians and those heading it up now are Christians but that has absolutely no impact on who they help.
As others have said volunteers also don't have to believe anything so if you feel inspired to volunteer, go for it, they need all the help they can get at the moment with the economy the way it is.
They also have a shopping list that lets you now what they want, an example is here:
www.trusselltrust.org/resources/documents/foodbank/website-shopping-list.pdf
Hope that link works!
OP buy whatever you feel able to, value or not value. If you can buy more value, go for it.

Thanks for all the advice tips and reassurance on the religious angle...

I really had ended up feeling so guilty and conflicted about the whole thing that I was considering not doing it again which was making me even more guilty...

Anyway, my ishooos aside I think the simplest thing for me will be to buy what I would normally buy but more, but consider buying the value stuff for myself and save some quids into the bargain :)

also I think I will go for cake next time....everyone deserves some cake in their life! Also in terms of calories per penny cake must be pretty good...

okay now I am worried I sound like Marie Antoinette...

maaan I need a more sensible brain. Do brain banks exist? I am pretty sure my GP would refer me.

I've just filled a bag for the harvest festival. I've taken it out of my own cupboards to avoid the dilemma. So it's a mix of value and own brand stuff. I'm hoping it will be useful, as school's harvest 'bounty' goes to the city food bank.

We just direct debit to FareShare.

I would like to automatically donate through my online shop, actually, by nominating a percentage, like 1% or something? On eBay you can do that, or add donations as you checkout, but I'd like to just set and forget. Hmmm. I wonder how to propose such a thing to Ocado...

something once:
yes a lot of the foodbanks are set uo and run by churches and christians. Thye don't hide it, but their aim is totally to help anyone.

Foodbanks don't give out over the counter, you get given a voucher by council/homeless charity/benefits officer/discharge from hospital (and not sure who else) You take the voucher to the bank and get a bag of food. Most food banks have volunteers who will sit and have a cup of coffee with someone and listen for a bit too.
The aim is respect, valuing people for who they are, give them dignity, help them at very low point in their life. There is never any pushing of christian agendas, but it is often clear that the volunteers come from x church.

They really do a great service, catching people who would otherwise fall through the cracks.

As to donations. A lot of what is collected now will be given out over the next 3-4 months. So give things with a long sell by date on. I never put cakes and things in as the sell by date is too soon. It is also helpful to buy multiple smaller bags/boxes rather than big ones (eg 3x 40 teabags is better than 1x 120)

At christmas our food bank tries to give out a gift with every parcel, often a hamper of goodies, and also presents for children. Then they ask for christmas goodies to put in parcels, as well as gifts.

Oh the confusion

I think that the food banks run on a sort of frnachise system fomr russell trust. They train you and help you set it up, then as I said above the vouchers are given out by local services (council/gp)

The church would need a fair amount of committment though. Our foodbank takes up a huge space in a corner of a warehouse, and has a lot sof volunteers

I've actually just got back from Lidl to do a shop for a food bank box for DH's form. The list of suggested items we were given:

Tea, coffee or dried milk
Tin of custard or rice pudding
Tin of fruit
Tin of soup
Tin of meat or fish (e.g mince or tuna)
Tin of vegetables (beans, peas, tomatoes)
Rice or pasta

I tried to get stuff that would make a meal together, but wondered about whether to get the cheapest coffee and tea or something a bit nicer. I have value everything in my house, bar the tea and coffee, so I decided to go for the better tea and coffee too - if I wouldn't eat or drink it, then I don't expect someone else to. I put a tin of dried milk in each box too, in case the recipient doesn't like black tea or coffee.

I had a bit of a set-to with a friend recently; he wondered if the press highlighting the use of food banks a few weeks ago would cause more benefit 'scroungers' to turn up there and take the food so they could spend more on their fags and booze , not realising that you need a referral to access one, until I pointed this out to him. Then again, I think he'd quite like to bring back the workhouse...

I find the notion that people wouldn't feel valued if given value/basics/no frills goods rather offensive. Shall I tell my family they shouldn't feel valued then as we only buy basics or own brand goods? I am on a strict budget having recently halved our income however I supply food to a bank on a weekly basis as it is important to me. I do so by buying basics/own brand for both. Perhaps I shouldn't bother if people will find it offensive. I would've thought people who are struggling enough to be directed to a food bank would not turn their nose up at tasty, nutritious food which happens to be presented in minimal packaging.