To put wine and chocolate in the food bank?

[Nunyabusiness]

Picked up a miniature white wine and a 5 pack of twirls, husband was aghast. My view is that people who are struggling to feed their families wouldn't have funds for such treats.

(I did also put tinned fruit and veg in, by the way!)

As a child my mother was recipient of food parcels am sure my mother appreciated the sensible food to actually feed us .My brothers and i still remember the gift of orange squash and nutella that was a good memory. I always donate squash jam and biscuits.

I've just checked my local FB site it asks for
FOOD BANK DONATIONS:

Over the winter we need extra donations of the following items to meet increasing demand:
Tinned meat or fish
Tinned fruit
Tinned milk puddings
Small packets of cereal
Jars of pasta and other sauces
Tinned tomatoes, beans or vegetables
Tins or packets of soup
Long grained rice , pasta
Cartons of long-life milk or fruit juice
Sugar, tea, coffee
Toiletries
Pet Food
Baby food
Toilet rolls
Other non-perishable foods or toiletries are welcome, including Christmas related items.

Nothing to do with poor people not getting sugar, but we would have been heavily frowned upon were we seen to be ignoring health guidelines. We give jam, custard, puddings as staples all of which contain.sugar

That doesn't make sense. Sugar, flour, butter they are staples. It's much cheaper to bake simple things for yourself than buy them.

I always add a 'You Give We Give' to my Ocado shop.

I donated cash to the Trussell Trust Lent appeal, and willbe looking out to see if they have an Advent one.

I also drop off a bag of donations from time to time. Most of it is from whatever the foodbank has posted as what it current wants most (2 or 4 roll packs of loo paper and washing up liquid being regular features)

But I always add a treat or too as well - because I know the foodbank does basic parcels, but also lets their clients take one or two things from the 'treat' table. Because I think it's about making life a bit more bearable as well as providing basic nutrition.

I do have a question for foodbank volunteers

• do things always have to be in small pre-packaged units? Or, if the client can see they are coming out of a new pack, can thinks like washing up sponges and disposable razors be split out from multipacks?

"It's much cheaper to bake simple things for yourself than buy them."

Which assumes you have access to an adequate kitchen and can afford gas/electricity.

Ours asks for tinned puddings and custard, because they are a good way of getting calories in, and don't have to be heated if you're trying not to use the leccy.

AuntieStella

Our foodbank splits packets of things. e.g we only give our 2 razors a time or a couple of loo rolls.

That doesn't make sense. Sugar, flour, butter they are staples. It's much cheaper to bake simple things for yourself than buy them.

Often the recipients are a) short of electricity/gas on the meter, b) short of time due to juggling caring and work commitments, d) in accommodation that doesn't offer the space or facilities for this (e.g. emergency b&b) or d) suffering from an illness (mental or physical) that prevents them from rustling up a quick souffle.

Many are experiencing fuel poverty as well. Flour isn't given as a staple either, it is an extra. Eggs aren't given, so they would need to be bought.

@Farahilda - our posts crossed!

Butter is a temperate item that can't be stored by most foodbanks, so while we could give the cheap bits like flour and sugar, your baking idea requires financial input elsewhere.

Nobody said souffle, no need to be flippant. And often they are not short of time or electricity.

How do you know food banks recipients aren't short of electricity

How do you know they are?
Not everyone is the same. I work with several food banks as part of my job.

Let's not get into the politics of food banks. Too many just don't understand the way it works or the reasons for the rise in their use.

I always check with the foodbank what they are low on at the time and fill up with that, then add nappies, wipes etc into the pile. I always include treats too.

Many people will make donations around christmas, and most food banks can't cope with it. I volunteered at a foodbank close to christmas last year, we physically had no room for the donations which were pouring in. The were close to turning people away. The problem, they said, was that by June they were running really low on everything - except pasta and rice. They always have tons of that.

One thing though, many food banks also take toys etc for wrapping as christmas presents for children.

Let's not get into the politics of food banks. Too many just don't understand the way it works or the reasons for the rise in their use

Elephant in room.

Who on earth thinks it's easier or cheaper to bake your own bread or cakes

I think the mug shot soups are ideal for food bank people as they have carbs and are tasty.

I wouldn't give Oreos, but I buy them oat cake cookies that are much lower in sugar.

A sliced loaf is 50p in sainsburys

Compared to a bag of bread flour - £1, the yeast, the leccy, the tin etc.

And what about people who say they can't bake? Should they be sent away with a cookbook and told to learn, or else eat their bag of fucking flour and like it?

Plus, go and look at the price of Asda smartprice or Aldi baked goods, and then tell us it's cheaper to make your own. With full costings, please.

This is like the thread about why would anyone buy 'expensive' McDonald's burgers when you can make your own for much less at home. Not a fucking clue.

Exactly, these lovley cakes are a pound and flavoured vanilla, strawberry and lemon.

You can barely make them for less even if you have free electric

Africa. Now - there is a country whose inhabitants need food. - you are right, Africa is not a country, sorry. Of course it is a continent - one which needs help in many parts.
However, DP is from South Africa (actually Zim, but brought up in SA from age 10 to 21) and that is a country that needs a benefit system. When you visit, you will see disabled people with nothing. If they don't work (and many can't), if they don't have family or friends to live with/feed them, they die.

Anyway - I still maintain that I live in the richest corner (Surrey) of a rich country. I can't beleive that people wouldn't abuse the free food offer - If they take all other benefits on offer, why wouldn't they grab a carrier bag of free food? As I said, these are not disabled people, they have no reason to not work except laziness. I work, I already pay taxes to fund their lifestyle. Why would i pay even more to sub their fags and booze? It's their choice to drink and smoke - yes I know all about alcoholics, poor loves. DPs neighbour is a Vulnerable Adult because he has fried his brain with drugs, alcohol and fags. He can have screaming, throwing matches at 2AM with his GF, and get away with it. DP has to work from 630. Guess who gets the sympathy on here?

I am not heartless - in fact in between posting I popped to the local shop (for a loaf of reduced bread) and outside was a collection for the local Air Ambulance. That is a charity I can support - they got £5 off me (And it is scandalous that the gov doesn't fund it!)

No to alcohol. Yes to treats. If you can, please please pleeeeaaase put in sanitary products. Budget ones or whatever you can afford. They are not on the standard list but are so very desperately needed. Also, men's shower gels etc. I know of course that you can get unisex shower gel, but men are always so delighted to get something that has that strong smell and "for men" written on the front, you can get from Poundland. I think that along with chocolate and biscuits etc, toiletries are so very gratefully received. You can also get small boxes of soap powder from the pound shop, also lovely to give somebody with kids who needs to wash uniforms etc.

Oh Ptumbi, calling all people on JSA "lazy"? Saying "your taxes" pays for them? That's a lazy generalisation. Apart from the fact that you have no idea whether people now on JSA have ever worked and paid into the system themselves, you will find nurses and police officers having to use foodbanks these days, because for over 7 years, the pay-freeze has resulted in some public sector workers have fallen into poverty.

Not everyone who uses food banks is a lazy scrounger. And as for "world reknowned" benefits, since the Tories came to power, our benefits system is infamous for its inhuman attitudes towards unemployed and disabled people.

I used to share 2 very basic kitchens with 11 other women and up to 40 odd kids at any one time while living in a women's refuge. I think if any of us had arsed about baking cakes when other people were waiting to sort their own kids out there'd have been a full scale riot!

I can tell you that our cupboard (we got donations too) was well stocked and kiddie cereal, baby wipes/nappies, sanitary pads and shower stuff was always appreciated along with everything else but those can be the priciest stuff or things you forget about if you have no money! And many didn't because they'd suffered financial abuse and it can take weeks to get benefits sorted even though they do try to hurry it along when you're in refuge.

I think it's sad when I see "basic" versions in the food bank box, especially the cereals, people using food banks have probably been living of the basic versions for weeks and the nicer versions is often not a lot more.

And why do so many people contribute pasta? A friend was complaining that the food bank was refusing donations of pasta and saying when did poor people get so fussy I then pointed out that they're probably overrun with the stuff and it's not exactly expensive so "poor" people are probably sick to death of it.