Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

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

509 replies

haveatarday · 06/01/2015 10:56

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?

OP posts:
MonstrousRatbag · 07/01/2015 10:29

Do come off it, kidneybean. That is a completely disingenuous explanation.

FlowerFairy2014 · 07/01/2015 10:35

We all know which foods keep people full for longer and do them good. It's not rocket science.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 07/01/2015 10:37

That's a completely disingenuous explanation of this thread. And if the poster you are referring to is WWC/SS that's a completely disingenuous explanation of that situation too. Even though that was definitely not MN at it's finest hour.

KateSMumsnet · 07/01/2015 10:42

Hullo kidneybeanpate - we're just going to mail you about this - could you pop over to your inbox and take a look?

WitchesGlove · 07/01/2015 10:43

Would couscous be ok? Or those dried couscous meals? They can be made with hot water.

What about packets of nuts like peanuts/cashews?

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 07/01/2015 10:43

Kidneybeanpate - have you taken on board any of the comments about the need for donations to be practical?

Kidney beans on their own are not going to be easy to make into a hot, tasty, nutritious meal - frankly the kidney bean, tomato paste and raw onion pate suggested sounded horrible, and wouldn't have warmed up anyone.

To make a hot meal using kidney beans, you would need other ingredients, herbs or spices, and decent cooking facilities - but what if you don't have these things? If your cupboard is literally bare, your cooker is broken and you can't afford to fix it, and you only have a microwave - or maybe just a kettle? Or that you only have a bit of money left on your electricity key/card/gas meter, no money to top it up, and using the cooker for 20 minutes to cook a meal from scratch is going to mean the lights will go out. Imagine then that it is cold outside, and of course you can't afford to run the heating. Which is going to be the most practical, comforting and warming meal - a pot noodle, or kidney bean pate on oatcakes? The pot noodle isn't the most nutritious thing - but it is easy to prepare, tasty and hot.

And I haven't seen anyone saying that 'the poor' only like processed crap. I have seen some posters claiming that is what people are saying but no actual evidence.

Nomama · 07/01/2015 10:47

WitchesGlove, we would accept them but may not put them in a normal bag. It would go on the help yourself shelf.

Only because they are not to everyone's taste. Round here they would get taken quite quickly. This week I could name the man who would take them. Next week, it might be me buying them for work lunches.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 07/01/2015 10:47

FlowerFairy - perhaps you would like to share with us those foods that are good for us - BUT CAN ALSO BE EASILY AND QUICKLY PREPARED BY SOMEONE WITH LITTLE OR NO COOKING FACILITIES, EXTRA INGREDIENTS AND/OR LITTLE ENERGY (GAS/ELECTRICITY) TO COOK THEM WITH, AND WILL PROVIDE A HOT, COMFORTING MEAL?

Apologies for shouting, but as so many people have said, over and over again on this thread, the food given by the food banks HAS to be practical for the recipients to prepare, AS WELL as being as healthy as possible!

BiscuitsAreMyDownfall · 07/01/2015 10:51

You still sound very pretentious and self righteous even more so when you tried to explain. One thing I don't get is the point of this thread. You came just to boast tell us how you are giving different things to a food bank than what is on the list. So?

differentnameforthis · 07/01/2015 10:57

Pot noddles, past & sauce (esp those you just add water to) are probably for those people who live in B&Bs, or have little access to cooking utensils.

haveatarday Seriously, why would you GO so against what they have asked for? We have people visiting us who live in motels & only have a kettle. How can they heat up soup? Pot noddles/cup-a-soups/pasta& sauce are ideal for these people.

People who are getting stuff for fee should be gateful and that's why I would never donate starving people Nope, don't donate starving people!

Tinned pineapple & tinned kidney beans (and lentils) are the two things that sit on our shelves for months. You can't really have them as a stand alone food item, so having to worry about what to combine them with it & the cost of those things, means that no one really takes them. But we have LOADS! As well as beetroot...

Can you explain that? I thought that foodbanks were for one off help when you're desperate. The way that's written the foodbanks have regular clients that they know their circumstances of, if they have ovens etc. We certainly do [have reg clients] Some homeless, some in B&Bs, some in motels. Our clients are allowed 3 full visits a yrs & 3 over nighters (few items, around 5/6)

The idea that a food bank is a one off thing is actually not true. We have many more regulars than we do one offs. That is the reality of today. People aren't just struggling for one meal, one week, a low day til payday, most are struggling to make ends meet constantly.

but if, as some people on this thread have said that tins of kidney beans can't be shifted off the shelves, that'd surely be a good idea to have a print out of things to do with them? Yep, we do recipe cards, but again, no one wants kidney beans.

make your own refried beans No other ingredients needed? So what, you can have them on toast? Surely you don't actually eat them by themselves.

and a bit of diced onion (staple that fb give out) Erm..no. We rarely have fresh fruit/veg because we have nowhere to store it.

The kidney beans could be mashed with some tomatoes purée (I donated) and a bit of diced onion (staple that fb give out) and then had as a toping on oat cakes (I donated). A fulling and healthy meal with protein and carbs and 2 of your 5. You can mash with a fork and cut with a normal knife, I've done it while traveling...Why all the anger at wanting to help educate people on how to consume a nutritious food? Sorry, but urgh! That sounds revolting & honestly, isn't something that will appeal to the majority of those using a food bank. Not to mention, that within 3 items, one meal (if that is what you can call it) has been consumed. Which means that there is less for the other days. Honestly, op...stick to the lists, you have NO idea what goes into running a food bank & you are wrong to assume that you know better than the people who work there.

The brown rice and kidney beans could be stired into the tomatoes soup I gave and heated in a bowl like a bain-marie over the kettle. So now you want someone to stand & hold a bowl over steam while the food heats up & heats up the bowl & the contents? What about of that person isn't able to stand & hold things while their hands become scalded? Or of they have small children who are likely to pull at them?

Geez op, this is a whole new level of stupid you are spilling out.

If you DID have other ingredients, THEN chilli is ace. And how would you cook it if you only have a kettle?

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 07/01/2015 10:59

Good namechange Flowerfairy. Not quite sure it's enough to hide who you are though.

I'll await your recipe suggestions with bated breath. It could be interesting.

MeAndMySpoon · 07/01/2015 11:03

Let Them Eat Kale, eh, OP? Grin

(Apols, I nicked that off Posy Simmonds, c. 1984)

Nomama · 07/01/2015 11:05

Ye gods! How could I have forgotten the beetroot ?

We have a pet bottle of crinkle sliced beetroot, it has been here as long as I have been volunteering... he is called Crinkle Cut Keith and he is used as a paperweight / door stop.

So maybe I was a bit optimistic when I said, upthread, that we can find a home for everything Smile

FriendlyLadybird · 07/01/2015 11:08

Nomama He sounds as if he's doing sterling work as a doorstop. See -- you do find a home for everything!

Hakluyt · 07/01/2015 11:08

That's odd about tinned pineapple- I thought most kids love the stuff.......

Hakluyt · 07/01/2015 11:09

Does that apply to other tinned fruit as well?

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 07/01/2015 11:13

If you'd have been my local food bank, I'd have taken crinkle cut Keith off your hands, nomama. But is sounds like you have made use of him anyway.

differentnameforthis · 07/01/2015 11:15

Oh stop it op! You are using the existance of food banks, and therefore extreme poverty, as a source of fun and amusement. I'm failing to see the humour now.

What does jam taste like on oat cakes No idea, but I bet it is better than tomato/onion & kidney bean smash.

That's appalling Shadows. How can we donate essentials like tampons etc? Just throw them in any collection box. :)

MeAndMySpoon · 07/01/2015 11:17

I think the thing that OP in all her many incarnations is failing to grasp is, for all your well-meaning suggestions, Food Banks are not set up to re-educate people and teach them how to cook healthy food economically. They are there as a crisis measure, to help people who desperately need help, any help, NOW. Sadly, there is no point in giving food to a food bank if they're unable to pass it on to anyone who could, or would want to use it. Oatcakes are fairly esoteric if you've never had them before, as are kidney beans (rank IMO unless combined in a chilli - which requires mince or tofu mince, tomatoes, and a lot of seasoning to make palatable, plus a hob and fuel).

differentnameforthis · 07/01/2015 11:18

Does that apply to other tinned fruit as well?

Mixed fruit and peaches are the first to go off our shelves.

MuttersDarkly · 07/01/2015 11:19

Since when has pasta been junk food?

Since the anti carb thing and you know, Italy being the fattest, unhealthiest, high mortality capital of the EU.

ReallyTired · 07/01/2015 11:21

Our local food bank asks for sanitary towels and nappies. (Seems a little odd for a food bank for ask for hygiene products but at least a poor woman doesn't have to go without food to buy sanitary protection.) Maybe you can donate something else if you don't approve of the food list.

I think we have to assume the organisers of the food bank have the experience to know what they need and what is popular.

HarveySchlumpfenburger · 07/01/2015 11:29

If they're not all on the paleo diet they'll be storing themselves up a whole multitude of problems, muttersdarkly. You mark my words.

ilovesooty · 07/01/2015 11:31

I thought you couldn't just re register if you were banned without being banned again. Perhaps I'm being a bit naive. Blush

Nomama · 07/01/2015 11:39

I have to admit this thread has made me think again. I might go in and have a chat with The Committee and see if we are missing out on anything.

Are we not getting our info out there enough?
Are we really providing the service our client base needs/wants?
Have we changed quickly enough to meet the current needs of tour community?

That last one is the most pressing. Someone else said that they no longer just provide 3 days worth of food and have more long term clients these days. So do we.

Now that presents a real dilemma. We are not set up to support people long term, that is not our job, our remit. Cruel as it sounds, if we start doing this we are relieving others of that responsibility - government, benefits etc. Are we accidentally making things worse for some people? Should we re-aim ourselves, and demand funding from local government?

We have this sort of crisis of confidence every now and then and it usually results in a tweak to the service. Maybe this is one of those times!

Swipe left for the next trending thread