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?

They also know their clients and what sort of facilities they have for cooking or for keeping stuff

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.
If people can only come in once or twice, how the heck do they get to know everyone and what they can and can't cook?
(By the way, I do sometimes donate to FB's.)

Hate this food snobbery! Maybe parents would rather their child ate and be full up on corn flakes rather than push brown rice around on a plate and still be hungry.

Honestly take your head out of your arse, either donate happily or fuck offl looking down on people with your condescending shopping list.

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.

Gazpacho I suspect what the poster meant is that they know the type of clients they have, not that they know them all individually. So they may know for example, that on average 70% of their clients live in temporary accommodation with no 'basic' store cupboard ingredients and no access to an oven.

You could get what you think, Op, but our local food bank sells the stuff it can't use for a donation, then uses the money to stock up on what it needs.

Your donation will therefore be of less value. Better to cut out the middle man, surely?

The most bizarre donation I have seen was a tin of Make Your Own Seville orange marmalade

GazpachoSoup, I took it to mean they're familiar with their clients as a group rather than as individuals, so for instance the fact that the majority are going to be in fuel poverty, or that those who are homeless aren't going to have storecupboards of additional ingredients.

I'm posting this before finishing the whole thread , but doesn't ready to eat brown rice require a microwave?

We are not all the same, I'm sure one person will like dark chocolate and oatcakes, I know I would! I wasn't donating 100s, just enough for one person.

Actually I'm going to send a mail to food bank as I can help educate people what to do with kidney beans, so many uses and many I can think of with no cooking

Their client base fluctuates too...it's not the same people turning up week in week out...well some are regular I'm sure but then there are the people who are one offs...and nobody knows their circumstances. Better to err on the side of caution.

Actually I'm going to send a mail to food bank as I can help educate people what to do with kidney beans, so many uses and many I can think of with no cooking

Pleeeeeeeeeease post that email on this thread

Also I tried really hard to convince myself that I preferred dark chocolate because it was somehow more grown up and posh middle class, but in all honesty don't most people want a nice bar of milk chocolate to munch on.

Gazpacho I suspect what the poster meant is that they know the type of clients they have, not that they know them all individually. So they may know for example, that on average 70% of their clients live in temporary accommodation with no 'basic' store cupboard ingredients and no access to an oven.

Ah, OK that makes sense.

Op if you want to donate something healthy look for good quality tinned meat, fish, veg, milk, pasta sauce with high % tomato. Or buy some toiletries for adults and children, nappies, wipes etc. No need to compromise your principals, we need a whole range of stuff and we are happy to receive most long life food.

no cook kidney bean recipes...oooh

nice ready to eat brown rice salad and a tin of kidney beans. YUM...not.

www.theguardian.com/stage/video/2014/nov/17/britain-isnt-eating-microplay-guardian-royal-court-video

I thought this was very good.

OP, I can think of only one use for Kidney Beans really, and that is shoving them up your arse, one by one. When I started reading your thread, I thought people were giving you a hard time, but you really are Lady Bountiful, aren't you?

Cooked or uncooked, Random?

Poor OP, Peaches Geldof yesterday, food bank today, you seem to be getting a lot of stick!

haveatarday I have been giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming you are very naive but I refuse to believe you're that stupid that you're really going to email a food bank and tell them what they can do with some kidney beans.

Actually I'm going to send a mail to food bank as I can help educate people what to do with kidney beans, so many uses and many I can think of with no cooking

That sounds realllllllly wanky 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?
Kidney beans for example makes awesome chilli, or if you didn't have the ingredients for chilli, make your own refried beans by smashing them up. No other ingredients needed! We do both of these. Both yum.
Seems a shame for tons of tins of food that have been kindly donated to be just sitting there on the shelves when they could be feeding families.

Actually the mention of dark chocolate has sent me over the edge. Surely the op is having a laugh (not necessarily in a good way) and knows that this is sure to get us all posting?

This has to be a wind up, it just has to be!

Gazpacho do you really think kidney beans are yum with no other ingredients added? They make a lovely salad with dressing and some chopped up tomato and onion, and I can see them being perfectly acceptable as one ingredient in a sort of Mexican thing, smushed onto the tortillas before you put the salsa etc on, but on their own??

Either donate what they are asking for, or frankly don't bother. I can assume that you have never experienced poverty so let me spell it out:

If you are at the stage where you are using foodbanks, you are unlikely to have access to the rest of the ingredients that are needed to turn a bag of brown rice into a meal.

As other have pointed out many people will have only a kettle or if they are lucky a microwave. Even if by some miracle the recipient of your bounteous gift of brown rice has the spices and other raw ingredients available to turn it into a meal and the equipment and means to cook it.

Remember they could well be on a payg electricity or gas meter so half an hour cooking a faffy brown rice based meal may well mean that there's no heat or light. Also remember that you are feeding children, who despite their hunger may not eat unfamiliar foods. In this context, your gift is an extremely expensive one for the recipient.

I am not sure if you appreciate that when the house is empty of food and you are on the bones of your arse, the name of the game when eating is to keep the hunger pangs as long of possible and at the lowest cost. In this context biscuits and pot noodles are wonderful. Not constructing elaborate nutritionally balanced meals.

I think what really got me cross about your post op is the condescending tone of your post. Not only do you think you know better than the people who run the foodbank, but your 'gift' has to be in some way worthy and improving and deprive the recipient of any pleasure of eating. You remind me of those Victorian Lady Bountifuls who went about handing gifts of bibles and soaps to poor and wondered why they often got said items flung back at them.

You might find it most helpful to stand outside the food bank and shout helpful bean-related tips at the customers. Or indeed anyone who happens to be passing by.

I SEE YOU'VE GOT A PACKET OF CRISPS THERE, BUT LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT SEEEEEEDS