To Let You Know What My Food Bank Needs

[RamblinRosie]

I’m guessing the requirements are similar across the country, mine needs:

Tea bags
Pasta sauces
Nappies size 5&6
Tinned vegetables
Jams/spreads

Apparently, they don’t feel they can ask for biscuits or treats, but they are very much appreciated.

My local food collection point is full of very worthy food but I like to add a few nice bits, if you need to use a food bank, you deserve the occasional treat.

Thanks for the tips. Our school are collecting food for the local food bank for harvest service this week. I’m going to take the kids to go shopping so we can definitely get some of those items.

Requirements are not the same. I rang ours earlier in the year and was told that they didn't need anything!

ramblinrosie

So funny - your food bank needs to have a chat with our food bank! We have too many nappies, teabags and pasta (and sanitary towels, strangely)!

But agree on jams and spreads...

We are always short on:

Long life milk
Tinned meat and fish
Cooking sauces
Jam
Cooking oil
Toothpaste
Deodorant

What a brilliant thread!
Anyone able to mention foodback locations? A brief name change would manage privacy?

Ours was recruiting a couple of weeks ago. They obviously love your basics such as baked beans, dried pasta etc, but they needed stuff such as tinned fruit ( pineapple, peaches etc, cheap but appreciated!) Tea bags, hot chocolate.

Our current shortages

Thank you! That is really good information.

I'd donate, but don't know how - is there a website for finding your nearest food bank?

Trussell trust has a search facility but the bank local to me isn't listed on it.

Supermarkets round here usually have collection points near the check outs too.

This was a good thread re what to donate
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3038511-to-put-wine-and-chocolate-in-the-food-bank

Our local one is

Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Tinned meat
Tinned cake
Tinned potatoes/ vegetables
Teabags

Don't the collection boxes in your local supermarkets tell you what the current priority needs are? All ours do.

@ScreamingValenta Our larger supermarkets have collection bins, or give the Trussell Trust a call to ask. I like to put some advent calendars in in November and try to remember treats like biscuits and sweets.

Question: I want to donate to my local food bank but have no unwanted food lying around. Is it better to buy food and leave it in the donation point or is it easier if I just leave money so they can buy exactly what they need on that particular day (or use it for other expenses).

(obviously I mean donate money online not just leave it in the food donation box)

Have just looked up my local trussel trust food bank wow its only open 4 hours in seven days made me ashamed I have emailed them to offer some time I work full time

I'm waiting for someone to come along and suggest lentils instead of jam...

If you donate at Tesco, they will top up your donation themselves, so the food bank gets extra. I usually give them long life milk, tinned veg, meat and fish, plus anything non perishable that’s on special offer.
Tesco has cheap “value” ranges, so you can donate lots of food for very little cash outlay.

I think many Food Banks get overwhelmed with pasta, rice, baked beans, tinned tomatoes etc. This is going to sound a bit patronising but I think many of us donate what we would use to make a 'cheap' meal ie: a packet of pasta and some tinned tomatoes but many people using Food Banks may not have the cooking facilities even to cook pasta so microwave rice and a sauce are much more useful. Also since all the news about 'Period Poverty' we are practically drowning in sanitary items but the reality is we have very few clients who need these. We end up taking them to the local women's refuge etc.

The best advice is to contact your local Food Bank and ask about their exact requirements, and yes, financial donations are always appreciated.

Also not much point in donating those giant packs of cereal as most people collect their food on foot and they are really awkward to carry. Another point, may not be relevant to all Food Banks but we get inundated with donations from Harvest through to Christmas and run out of storage space, yet come the months of March onwards we run low on stock. I can understand that people like to give a big donation at Christmas but it would be much more useful if these could be spread out.

Thank you to everyone who donated to Food Banks.

The Trussell Trust covers a lot of banks

www.trusselltrust.org/get-help/find-a-foodbank/

Oliver good point, in 8 years of helping at our Food Bank I have never known anyone want lentils or pulses or any other 'worthy' products quinoa

I've got an open box of tampons only taken 2 out. Would it be cheeky if I put that in the food bank?
I just can't throw them away knowing people are in period poverty but I don't want to look rude putting a box in that's got 2 missing.
Or if there's any other suggestions who would take them?
Sorry for the hijack.

Ragwort you've been volunteering at a food bank for 8 years!?
I'm shocked I honestly thought they'ed only sprung up in the last couple of years.

My local foodbank is a Trussell Trust. They have no qualms about asking for chocolate and crisps! (BTW I don't begrudge this). Ours has a Facebook page and list what it needs so I usually check but it's often the same things they are after:-

Tinned meats
Tinned fruit
Tinned veg
Tinned & packet soup
Cooking oil
Coffee
Marmite/peanut butter
Deodorant (esp mens)
Washing powder
Toothpaste

They are quite clear that they are drowning in pasta and baked beans yet whenever I drop something off at the collection point (local supermarket) they'll always be the value massive bags of pasta in there.

I have a similar question about an opened item.

I have some huggies bed wedding mats. They're not cheap! And came in packs of 7. We used one out of this pack and now don't use them at all. I don't want to throw them away if they can be used by someone who's going through it. But would that be useful or just binned if I put it in the collection point?