To ask about donating to foodbanks?

[KatieGoesKaboom]

If I've got a spare fiver am I better going to Asda and buying £5 worth of whatever I think the foodbank might need and putting in the donation trolley, or am I better just finding the foodbank website, like this one warrington.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-money/ and donating the money?

It seems to me that they could probably buy more food (and exactly what they need) with our money than we can, and they probably need money to run the places anyway.

Is money better than a food donation?

You could just phone and ask them. First time I ever donated, I called and was asked to buy cleaning products so people ould make their houses and clothes fresh for Christmas. Then I volunteered for a year and discovered most foodbanks have enough pasta and baked beans to feed their clients for months. But they lack tinned veg and fruit, tinned meat and all cleaning products and toiletries. So those are what I buy these days, as well as some nice biscuits or jar of coffee.

Don't forget if you get any toiletries at Christmas you can donate those - like the perfume gift sets if you don't use the body lotion, or hand cream
Selection boxes after Christmas when they get reduced to, then can be opened and broken down into individual chocolate bars

@Back2Bali a local food bank here put a post up on fb saying that they found that some of the ladies in the women's refuge that they helped were using their socks because they didn't have towels or tampons. That absolutely knocked me, so since then I've made a mental note to always put them in the collection box along with antiperspirants and razors.

@passthetea oh wow... that's shocking...that's terrible... the other day I won 250 quid on a scratch card i used 50 of it to get the food bank things..I popped there first and asked what they needed... and they said toiletries, so I went to
poundland and got a mix of mens womens and baby, some cleaning products, and laundry stuff.. it wasnt much, I also I popped in 4 advent calendars they where 50p In asda and some selection boxes

Please think about pack sizes too.

Two small bags of sugar is not as ‘economical’ as one large bag, but it is more useful as food banks can’t split the large packets. Ditto tea bags, coffee, cereal, etc.

Washing powder capsules are better than a large box of washing powder - food banks can put a few capsules in a care package and it will go further.

Microwave rice better than a big bag of brown rice. Electric or gas is expensive so quick-cook options are needed.

Good point NoSquirrels, those huge packs of cereal might be good value for a family but to give to a single person are hopeless and think how the client has to carry everything home? Sugar is always desperately needed, I unpacked a load of donations for our FB last night, plenty of everything, including loads of Christmas treats, but not a single pack of sugar. That’s the sort of thing we can buy with any financial donations we get.

It’s also worth remembering that if you donate money and are a UK tax payer gift aid will add 25% to your donation, making it go that bit further. I have just set up a small monthly donation to my local food bank so they can get whatever they need and I don’t need to remember to donate.

That is really helpful NoSquirrels!

our food bank trolley is in asda and as I was in there today I decide to donate something to it, I had a look at the trolley first lots of food so I went for bottles of shampoo (nice brand not generic cheap one) and toothpastes

I shop in my local Tesco each week and generally try to estimate 10% of my spend and donate that value to the food bank.

My local theatre has set up a scheme asking for donations of £10. They are then providing free tickets for families to see the pantomime and giving all the money to the local FB for them to spend on whatever is needed. They have been overwhelmed with donations.

Many thanks to the poster who mentioned Bankuet! My local FB has need of toiletries and cleaning materials so a package of same will be winging its way to North London tomorrow.

If your local one don't have a list then go for safe things. I have put toothpaste in, shower gel or food stuffs which don't require a hob/oven to cook things.

My local food bank won't accept cash donations, only food/other items on their list. Their drop off point is in the local Tesco and the list is displayed above, which is handy as when DH does the shopping he can check the list first, then grab whatever is needed on the way round Tesco and drop it in at the end.

What about if we just paid more tax so that benefits were enough to cover the cost of living. Then there would be no more need for foodbanks.

Actually not even benefits. Just things like public sector pay, social services etc etc.

Last Christmas on 23rd I put £100 in a Christmas card and sort of hovered outside a local food bank in my town (I tried to not look like a stalker) I saw a woman come out with nappies and just wandered over and said merry Christmas handed card and scarpered. I didn’t want to make them embarrassed. Or give them an opportunity to give it back. So I didn’t look back and just legged it. I felt warm and goey inside. I hope I helped makes someone a little brighter. I read once if you are doing ok make your table longer not your wall higher. I hope they were thrilled not offended. I did it with good intent.

With money they can buy what they are short of.
Dd took 130 hampers to food bank from her work last week and was chatting to a man and he said summer is worse time for there supplies due to holiday hunger.

Money is god as they buy the stuff which isn,t donated with the money.But how about buying things like sanpads, toothpaste loo roll as these are often forgotton.

We live in one of the richest countries in the world. Why do we even have foodbanks. They are a disgrace. We should all just pay more tax instead of shining our own haloes by donating a tin of beans.

We live in one of the richest countries in the world. Why do we even have foodbanks. They are a disgrace. We should all just pay more tax instead of shining our own haloes by donating a tin of beans

Alas, while we have a government like the one just voted in, food banks are an inevitability. If we aren't paying more tax to eradicate the need for them, then donating directly is not "shining our halo", it's responding to need in a socially compassionate fashion.

summer is worse time for there supplies due to holiday hunger

Yes, at this time of year food banks benefit from people's generosity around Christmas time, and they've also probably stocked up from harvest festival donations etc. Summer holidays are a real problem for plenty of families.

I see a few PPs think it's a disgrace we need food banks, and that the benefit system should cover it.
State benefits always involve bureaucracy and delays in processing and validating claims. During the waiting period, new claimants are potentially going hungry.
A food bank is a fast, simple and practical solution that can act as a stopgap until a claim is paid.
It would be hard to design a state equivalent that would be anything like as efficient, or geared to local needs.
An enormous amount of social care of this sort is actually provided by churches, businesses, charities and individuals, and I think is a sign of a good and caring society rather than the reverse.

I didn't realise you could actually donate cash. I normally put a few bits in the trolley in our local supermarket, eg meals in tins, things such as pot noodles, I know not nutritious but can be made up from a kettle if no cooking facilities, a couple of treat things like biscuits and some tinned or packet potato. Hadn't really thought about toiletries and wouldn't have thought of sugar.

Like pp I also wonder whether to go for quantity or quality. Also we had a basket for donating Christmas presents for children. I put a few little bits in like colouring but noticed that the other things in there were larger more expensive toys.

Trussell Trust if anyone wants to set up a standing order. Just imagine what a difference it would make if even 1/10th of MN were able to even give £5 a month.

Don't forget to gift aid if you pay tax, then the foodbank gets 25% more than you choose to donate.