About food banks.

[fucketyfuckety]

Having a conversation with my mum yesterday, she's a lovely person, always tries to help others wherever she can etc. She was having a bit of a rant about how shocked she was that people bought and donated smart price or value range food to food banks, when they could afford better quality products. She said it treated people who go to food banks as if they're not "worth" better food. I was really cringing because I try to donate as regularly as possible but I do pretty much always buy value ranges. I also use quite a lot of value range products myself and feel that my money will stretch further if I donate these rather than expensive alternatives. I'm not on a mega tight budget but I'm by no means rich either and need to be careful with money. So AIBU to donate value products to food banks? Or is my my being unreasonable to think that it reflects badly on the person donating?

If you can buy 1 pack of pasta for say £1.35 or 6 value packs at 25p each, I think it's better to buy the value packs.
Obviously its nice to have the "treat" of non value items here and there, but it's probably better to feed more for your money than giving treats sometimes.

I usually give carrier bags to my local foodbank. Not as bonkers as it sounds as a pack of 100 is usually between £2.50 to £3 on Amazon.

They are always asking on fb if anyone has any spare carriers, plus I got chatting to one of the volunteers a while ago and they said that some users of the foodbank prefer the non-branded bags as there is no carrier bag stigma then.

Nappies/wipes is something else they always need. However wipes wise I always try and avoid the supermarket value ones as they're useless.

I tend to buy value staples (pasta, passata etc) but for things I know I prefer branded, I'll try and put those in - Heinz tomato soup and ketchup as an example.
I buy all kinds of random shite too though like disposable razors, kids toothbrushes, boxes of sweets. Oh and jars and jars of Nutella. Who doesn't love Nutella

We got donated some stuff from Waitrose once and one of our ladies couldn't understand it. She kept saying 'but I can't have Waitrose, I'm poor'.

All donations are appreciated, especially this time of year. School holidays mean an extra meal to provide for each child, sometimes two. Don't let anyone put you off giving what feels right for you.

Oh, and very much appreciated in our FB are those little mini birthday cakes. It's horrible when women come in and can't afford a birthday cake for their kids.

I tend to figure the food bank would rather five packets of own brand/cheap range pasta (for example) than one packet of authentic handmade Italian luxury pasta.

But then for staple basics I buy the cheap stuff for myself anyway.

I voluneer at a Food Bank and we would much rather have more donations in total than fewer 'premium' brands - that way we can help more people.

After Christmas we get inundated with chocolates, fancy hamper stuff etc that people have obviously been given as presents.

(Please check with your local food bank before donating pasta, rice or baked beans - most food banks are drowning in them ).

We always buy value stuff because it means we can donate, basically, twice as much for the same money.

However, if we do our own shopping and get any BOGOF offers and don't need the 2nd item, we always put that in the food bank collection bin.

I always buy branded tampons and sanitary towels though to donate.

After many food bank threads, and talking to someone who helps at one, I now prioritise:

• stuff that is nourishing/comforting and doesn't need much equipment (eg pot noodle, rice pudding, instant custard).

• stuff that's a complete meal or thereabouts (eg tinned curry or chilli).

• stuff for special diets including vegetarian meals and non-dairy milk.

• treats because food bank clients are human beings and deserve kindness (eg chocolate biscuits, sachets of posh instant coffee).

• boring overpriced staples eg teabags, instant coffee, small bags of granulated sugar.

And every single time I read some wanker saying that food banks encourage laziness or their clients deserve gruel, I put two mental fingers up and put extra in the box, with chocolate in it or chunky cookies or something.

Oh and sanitary pads.

Shoutout, I wonder if there's any scheme that links people that love to bake with people who can't afford a birthday cake? Me and my ds both love to bake so I'd lie to do something like that.

I was thinking of popping in sunscreen with usual donations given we're having such hot weather but didn't know if it was a good idea or whether I'd be better putting in more food.

Well I do give things to the foodbank that I wouldn't eat myself, stuff like tinned meatballs, tinned ravioli, breakfast in a tin, etc. Because I read on MN that ring pull tins with that kind of food in it, something that's quick and easy to heat, is always sought after. But I also donate food that I eat myself, orange juice, biscuits, custard etc.

Check your local group on Free Cakes for Kids ...

Our foodbank won't accept "treat" items - they have a specific list that they hand out in supermarkets, or that you can get direct from them/their website: they say this is so that all users are treated equitably. At Christmas, they add chocolate calendars etc to the regular list: they also don't accept toiletries etc

There's times I would have been really grateful for foodbanks (eg under the dreaded ATOS) so I always just get the brands I would usually buy (if it's stuff I buy myself): that said, I am grateful that, although I don't have a lot to spare, I'm not homeless, jobless and desperate any more, so I do just get whatever's on the list once a month, when there're there to do the collection. We live in a very deprived area, which is, I assume, why there's no permanent trollies set out for donations.

Found and messaged Mrs. Hathaway, thanks!!

As someone who has used foodbanks, value brands are fine. I would guess the OP's Mum has never tried basic/value brands so might think they're horrible. They're not though, most of them are nice. In fact, I prefer a lot of basics things to premium brands now. It's just what you get used to.
As someone said they put tinned fruit in, great idea. That was my favourite treat. The thing I missed the most was fresh fruit.