AIBU to say that most people have no idea about Food Banks?

[UndertheCedartree]

I wrote a post a while ago about how I was struggling on my income (and I got loads of great support which really helped). I said on the post that I got 7 items a week from the Food Bank. A few people didn't understand how I could struggle with getting help from the Food Bank. I was just thinking probably most people have never been in a Food Bank or relied on one.

So to give an idea 7 items could be: 2 toilet rolls, a small bag of washing powder, a box of cereal, a carton of longlife milk, 4 tins of tomatoes, a tin of baked beans and a bag of pasta.

Or it could be: a bottle of washing up liquid, 4 sachets of microwave porridge, a carton of juice, 4 packets of crisps, 4 tins of kidney beans, a tin of peaches, a tin of custard.

Could most people honestly say they wouldn't struggle to make meals for a week with that? Don't get me wrong I am extremely grateful for the help. But it doesn't solve all your grocery problems as some people seemed to believe.

I used a food bank a few times. We did get more than 7 items I think. The difficulty with making meals from food bank food is that it's nearly all tinned and packaged food, even though the staff were very helpful and did their very best to give us what we needed it was still difficult to cook proper meals without fresh produce.
And yes you're right about 7 items not lasting 7 days, how could it?

It depends on your food bank.

7 items only is unusually low.

Is the 7 items thing a rule in your area? I've never heard of that. Around here you get a food parcel, which seems a lot more helpful. There's usually cereal, bread, long life milk, rice or pasta, sauces, biscuits, household essentials like toilet roll and then anything fresh or frozen that they might have. Not riches, certainly, but more than what you get.

I try to donate to them as often as I can. I think they've become reality for so many people, and it feels archaic.

I had know idea. I assumed you would get better stuff than that. Who puts that sort of coordination together without thinking if it could make meals?

It’s difficult to buy for food banks as you are basically given a list to buy from.
What sort of stuff would be useful to buy for them? (I don’t mean this in a goady sort of way, I know what to buy for me, I wouldn’t know what things to get say if my mum asked me to shop for her)

I've had the larger food parcel fron Trussle trust but you can only get 3 every 6 months so while a larger parcel it has to go a lot further. It's meant to last 4 days I think for all meals and snacks but that is 4 days out of approx 60 days til you can get another one.

The Food Bank I get the weekly bag from is the only one I know in the area that does a weekly bag. It is 7 items for a family and 5 for an individual.

This is not how the food bank I help with works. We pack parcels for various 'personas' (single adult, homeless adult, adult with x kids, family with x kids etc). They are generally at least two sturdy bags per parcel, several more for large families, and we have a specific list of what to pack to provide as nutritous parcel as we can. Meat, fish, fruit, veg, pulses, potatoes, soup, cereal, milk, sweet treats, toiletries etc. Not ideal by any means, and sometimes we have run short of specific items, but a lot of thought goes into what's in our parcels. Sorry to hear that not all places work like this.

Our food bank is generous & will give people what's needed (usually more than 7 items)
They also put together a cook book with some ideas how to use the food given to make longer lasting meals. ( not sure if yours do the same)
I think they do an amazing job. Considering that most people there are volunteers.

Sounds like an unusual setup.

As I understand it you need a referral to most food banks, you can't just turn up. Understandable since otherwise they'd be plagued by CFs, but it does make me wonder how many people need the help but end up denied said referral.

@TheTrollFairy tins of meat (ham, corned beef), meat pies and meat meals (tinned stew etc) are the things we run out of quickest at ours, possibly because they are some of the most expensive things.

This is not the case at the foodbank I work for (Trussell Trust - the largest UK foodbank group - they all operate the same within that umbrella). We would pack you: cereal, beans/spaghetti, tinned tomatoes/pasta sauce, soup, pasta/rice, tinned fish, tinned meat, tinned fruit, custard/rice pudding, uht milk, juice, biscuits, tea/coffee and a few sweets if we have them. You would get at least 1 of each of the above, quantities increase depending on the size of the household you are asking us to fee. We also have squash, sugar, toiletries, and some cleaning bits if you need them. Trussell trust operate with minimum weights for food parcels, if memory serves me correctly for a family of 3/4 you would have around 25kg of food in a 3 day food parcel.

I have 3 very local food banks who all give much more than 7 items per week.

Having said that, some get far more donations than others.

I volunteer at a foodbank, and we give supposedly 3 days worth of emergency food and toiletries/household items, although it could probably well last a week with a few additions.

Items we give are based on a family of 4:
Tinned meals/pies/tinned meat/tinned fish - 4
Tinned baked beans or spaghetti - 4
Tinned soups - 4
Cereal/porridge - 1 large box or large bag of oats or multipack porridge sachets
Pasta, rice, mash - 2 packets
Tea and coffee - 2
Longlife milk - 2 litres
Bread - 1 loaf
Squash or juice - 1
Sweet biscuits - 2 packs
Cream crackers - 1 pack
Pasta sauce - 1
Sugar - 1 bag
Tinned vegetables - 2 tins
Tinned fruit/rice pudding/custard - 2 tins
Ketchup/brown sauce/mayo/cooking oil - 1
Jam/marmalade/peanut butter - 1

Treats (random, but generally seasonal products (easter eggs/advent calendars/christmas biscuits etc) and things that don't fit into other categories (crisps/soft drinks/boxes of chocolates etc) - 2 (or one per child, if we have enough available)

Toiletries - sanitary towels/toothpaste/deo/shampoo/shower gel - as needed

Household - washing up liquid, toilet rolls (4), washing tablets (8), cleaning products - as needed.

Nappies. baby items, pet food - as needed, depending on availability.

Yes, you might need to buy extra bits, particularly fresh fruit and veg etc, but this is a big help, surely.

Food banks are just a helping hand for a short period while you get back on your feet.

I've relied on food banks in the past and got a lot more than 7 items. I would say that's unrealistic to feed a family.... I received for a family of 5, 3 x big boxes of random but definitely usable items that would see us through a couple of weeks. Tinned hotdog sausages cooked in chopped tomatoes served with plain rice is still a firm favourite for my DC's even now😂 I'm still very grateful for the help we received, we really were in a hole at the time. I imagine the demand for help must outweigh the donations in your area for them to ration to only 7 items?

Yes. A massive thank you to all the volunteers who help at food banks and the people that set them up in the first place.
Such a shame they are needed but so great there are people out there to run them.

I work in a council run family centre and we are a drop of point for Fair Share goods donated by supermarkets, these can be very random items but sometimes they include fruit and vegetables. We have a Trussel Trust food bank once a week, 2 carrier bags per family but all dry or tinned goods so you can’t really make complete meals out of them. Fresh goods tend not to be popular with a lot of the clients as they don’t all have fridges or the budget for fuel costs of cooking fresh meals.
We also have a charity selling cost price fruit and veg once a week where you can buy 1 potato or 2 tomatoes or 1 apple. We also have sanitary products and condoms available all the time.
We also keep a list of all food banks, places offering free meals, very low cost meals offered by churches or community centres which we can hand out, every day of the week there are at least 5 or 6 options somewhere in the city ( many you can self refer to and have no limit on number of visits. If you can get on a computer your local council should have a list in your area or get on Facebook for charity pages they may have lists.
One charity is also staring clothes banks with donated new or good quality second hand kids clothes esp school clothes.
Mine is quite a small city so everywhere is walkable at a push.
The need for help is huge, in a city that most people would think to be quite generally wealthy.
Please investigate, there will be more help out there. I wish you well.

I didn't know either.
Our local co-op have bags made up that can be donated. I pay for one most times I shop and figured that would be helping. Though from the sounds of it, it isn't enough.

You're right, people generally won't know unless they've had to use one.

At the Foodbank I get a bag from you don't need a referal to go as an individual (this is because the referal system often doesn't help certain groups) but you need a referal for the family day.

Those saying about the big parcels - how often would a family get all that food? Around here those are the Trussel trust parcels and you only get them 3 times in 6 months not every week.

The problem with my situation (and many others) is it is not a short-term situation. I will not get back on my feet for quite a while.

I'd like to say a massive thank you from the bottom of my heart to all those who donate food and volunteer at food banks. You are very much appreciated!

@coffeeonthesofa - thank you. A clothes bank would be wonderful. I am very lucky though that my children's school has a second hand uniform shop where everything is 50p so I can get most of their uniform from there.

@safariboot the referral system varies greatly from area to area because it depends on the referrers being prepared to take that on. Referrals are vital to us because yes they weedle out some of the CF's but also because the foodbank volunteers do not have the skills / resources to support clients beyond the food parcel, and by making that referral the referrers are also saying to the foodbank that they are providing other support to deal with the crisis that has lead to the family needing a food parcel. The problem with clients without that ongoing support - as the OP appears to be finding is that food banks are set up to provide crisis support NOT ongoing support. Therefore longer term support depends on whether the foodbank can sustain this - whether they have enough donations. Our foodbank currently will support ongoing clients where there is an identified need for example universal credit delays which are usually time defined by the referrer.

Finding a referrer should not limit people from being able to access support. Our referrers include job centres, childrens centres, churches, schools, social/council housing, drug/alcohol/mental health units, doctors surgeries, cab, etc. If someone is in need of a food parcel and does not know of a referrer, they can get in touch with the foodbank and they will suggest where they can get one.

I assumed you'd get more than that & not be so limited with big parcels. Its a sad state of affairs that so many need regular food bank help.

I've been lucky that I've always been able to afford food, but with budget of £3 a day to cover food& all shopping i racked up fair amount of debt over time & of course things eventually need replacing but isn't anything to save.

I didn't buy much fresh produce or meat as it was too expensive, batch cooking only works if can afford all ingredients one go & fuel to cook it. I ate a lot of bread as item frequently reduced in shops at night.

I’ve dealt with about 4 food banks and they all worked on the larger parcel but limited number of referrals. Like the Trussel Trust do.

I wasn’t aware of any that did what the OP mentions in providing regular ongoing support and indeed I’d understood that they generally wanted to avoid this sort of “dependency” for lack of a better word for a number of reasons.

May I ask where and how you donate things to the foodbanks please? It's the sort of question I'd normally ask on Facebook but I don't want to look like a total nobhead by asking this question on there. I'm not too sure where our local food bank is. I'm not in a city - I'm in West Yorkshire in a town beginning with H if that narrows it down for any local mumsnetters who may know.

I work in a school and am a designated referrer to our local Trussell Trust food bank, Salvation Army food and furniture bank and the local Church food bank.

For people in desperate need I do a mix and match of all three so they can get food for as long as they need it.

None of ours give out fresh food like bread, meat or vegetables. Though they gave one or our families some money for fresh food at Christmas.

@Cafelatte2go

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

Most supermarkets have a basket you can put donations in too.