to go off piste with food bank donations, as they only list wanting junk food

[haveatarday]

At the shops now. The local food bank is only asking for junk food on their list (crisps, biscuits, pot noodles, pasta and sauce, corn flakes).

Aibu to not get these but get healthier stuff, like tinned fruit in natural juce, oats, mixed seeds etc?

I can't help but think that donating money would be better than donating produce.

If I buy a pot noodle in Tesco it's £1, they have them 3 for a pound (off brand) in pound land. (so if I buy in Tesco I only donate 1/3rd of what I could)
Bachelors Supernoodles are 40p per pack, in Tesco, Maggi branded ones are five for £1 in Poundland...

I'm not saying go to Poundland, I'm saying that if Poundland can make a profit on pot noodles and microwave noodles (which can also be made with a cup and boiling water) then donating money to a food bank organisation should enable them to have the same economies of scale as a shop.

Is it better to buy a named brand (such as golden wonder pot noodle) than an off brand from Poundland?

Do you think food banks would be less funded if they asked for cold hard cash (that would enable them to feed more) instead of allowing people to have a physical connection, (i.e this pot noodle that I'm holding now will go directly to a person who visits a food bank this week?)

(I thought this thread was serious at the start, until I got the the bain marie part.)

I also like oatcakes, I eat them dry as they make a good breakfast that I can eat whilst driving to work!
(I also like staffordshire oatcakes.)

I never said there was a problem with chocolate, haphazard. If the food bank needs the basics, I don't think chocolate is as much of a priority, but as I said on the other thread, I think it is a great thing if the food banks have got some treats to put in the bags alongside the basics.

I'd say, if you are in sufficiently dire financial circumstances that you need to use a food bank, a few treats probably mean even more to you than they would normally.

SEEDS? FUCKING SEEDS?

Breadcrumbs from a birdtable?

Now I've read it all

I bought some Pot Noodles for the FB thanks to this thread!

Also thought of someone like my son who has ASD and would rather starve than eat meat so threw in some tinned macaroni cheese and ketchup, which makes most things more palatable. Not sure it would work with kidney bean canapes though...

I think it's about the only thing that might make kidney bean canapes palatable, toast.

I was looking for some budget recipes to use up the time of kidney beans but I think I'm going to draw a line at kidney bean canapes.

Well, Tryharder, for an answer, or several, I suggest you DO RTFT.

No waste of ketchup. The obvious condiment is balsamic vinegar and a little paprika.

any way to keep the thread for all the useful info but remove the op NN ?

We donated lots of Christmas treats to our local food bank instead of sending Christmas cardss this year. We also wrote to all the party leaders expressing our outrage that anyone is dependent on charitable giving in a developed country in the 21st century. No answers from any of them yet.

My local women's aid wasn't able to take goods unless they had a specific need / match due to lack of storage. My local Youth Service team ( local council) are able to take anything and everything.

Goods ie toys clothes high chair pram

I have both of those, lists. No oatcakes, tomato puree or onion though. Could substitute Ritz biscuits and passata or tinned tomatoes.

I have a feeling the resulting acid reflux is going to put me off eating for some time.

haphazard I think any attempt to support the op in her goady stereotyping of both middle class snobbery and food bank users ignorance is a bit misguided.

I also don't think users of food banks get much opportunity to peruse the shelves and pick themselves a nice bar of 70% cocoa solids dark chocolate. Maybe they do and some food bank volunteers could let us know. These food banks are to feed people with stuff that the vast majority will eat ie not dark chocolate.

In response to Haphazard:

Cats - a food bank is reliant on charitable donations. >> yes, that they give shoppers clear direction on, for the items they need at the present time. It's probably most sensible to follow their guidance if you definitely want to be helpful.

There are SEVERAL threads on here where people have stopped donating to a chosen charity because of one reason for another and people have always been okay with this.

Why would anyone not be ok about you donating, or not?

I think people get needlessly chest-beaty about food banks.

What, you mean the people who have exhausted all other avenues and have no choice but to use them? Absolutely. How attention-seeking and chest-beaty of them to be hungry and have hungry dependents and no easy fix.

No words, really...I feel ashamed about the origin of your username.

'Ashamed about the origin of your username'

excuse me?

Really daft thread - although I haven't read it all.

However, if it makes just a few of us donate just a few more thoughtful items to our local fb it's been a huge success. So thank you, OP

The Christian poem BC: AD - by U. A. Fanthorpe:

This was the moment when Before
Turned into After, and the future's
Uninvented timekeepers presented arms.

This was the moment when nothing
Happened. Only dull peace
Sprawled boringly over the earth.

This was the moment when even energetic Romans
Could find nothing better to do
Than counting heads in remote provinces.

And this was the moment
When a few farm workers and three
Members of an obscure Persian sect.
Walked haphazard by starlight straight
Into the kingdom of heaven.

(Sorry for the poetic tangent as it diverts from the very necessary and concrete matter of food banks and their function in feeding very hungry people, something more fundamental to the Bible).

So why on earth are you ASHAMED of my using a Christmas poem for my username?

At any rate, to answer your points - you have conceded no one needs to donate. I don't donate to many worthy charities because I can't donate to them all. It doesn't make me a selfish uncharitable person!

And the "chest beating" was in reference to these threads. If someone said 'aibu to say no to charity collector' everyone would say fine. 'Aibu not to give to food bank' (or donate jam!) sends people into a rage and I don't know why.

With the brown rice, it's not that poor people can't be expected to eat brown rice. It's the fact that brown rice needs something to go with it.

And the fact that even then it's horrible.

I love brown rice and believe me I am no angel, food wise. I don't even like dark chocolate

We are all different!

It's true that whenever there's a thread about food banks on here it's very long and gets quite angry.

I don't give. No big reason, it's just I support four charities through monthly direct debit and that's enough considering I don't earn a massive amount. I support Amnesty, the local animal shelter, BHF and cancer research. It doesn't mean I DON'T care about hunger any more than not donating to motor neurone disease or Dogs Trust or the NSPCC means I don't care about mnd or dogs or children.

I did once hear someone say they wouldn't give as they didn't see why it was their job to "feed the little chavs on the estate"

So why on earth are you ASHAMED of my using a Christmas poem for my username?
Probably pointing out that what you're saying doesn't sound very Christian. (I don't have an opinion on this, just putting a theory out there)

This thread isn't an 'AIBU not to donate to a food bank?' thread, though is it, haphazard? It's an 'AIBU to ignore the food bank's guidelines and donate what I think the poor people should eat?' thread - which is rather different!

But it still doesn't make sense (probably being pernickety!)

I'm not Christian anyway, I just like the poem