To think if you rely on a food bank you may need to compromise your vegan principles?

[LondonUnited]

I’m a supporter of our local food bank and am on their mailing list. I received an email earlier to say that they were supporting a vegan family and were therefore asking for specific food donations, including Oatly oat milk, various nuts and seeds, specific types of beans, etc etc.

I may get flamed for this but I couldn’t help thinking that - allergies aside (and I have a milk allergic child so I do get it) - if you need a food bank to feed your family, you might need to compromise on diet slightly? For a start, Oatly Barista is lovely and all that, but Aldi or Asda oat milk is also ok and half the price. And that the odd bit of tinned fish may be easier to access from a food bank than Brazil nuts and chia seeds...

I would happily donate for a vegan family. Maybe not the oatly as we can't afford that ourselves, but other stuff.

It's a shame that there isn't a simple way for people to just give money instead, as the food banks could then bulk-buy exactly what they knew they needed and would provide the maximum benefit for the funds available, as well as instantly getting an extra 25% from everybody who gift aided.

However, it's a disconnect between the giving and the purpose. As has been said, people feel a bit inadequate giving £2 in cash when they can spare it, but they can genuinely feel like they've done a worthwhile, kind thing when they can drop 8 tins of value beans and a couple of packs of value pasta in a trolley for the FB. I think the simple practicality and anonymity of the giving as well as no risk of being identified and pressured to give more is something that people value too.

@Gizmo79

If your infant needs a specific milk then it will be prescribed Free by your GP. Same as highly allergic children. So I call BS on the whole allergic rationale. Parental preference fair enough. Religious rationale fair enough. Both of those need to think about whether their child’s hunger is more important. In both cases the child may well decide to choose another route.

This is rubbish, it might apply for very young infants who only drink milk but for anything above a toddler who can eat food too.

Prescriptions for allergies are woefully thin and a completely unfair postcode lottery. I have coeliac disease and can't get any GF products on prescription because of where I live despite GF alternatives to bread and pasta - universally recognized cheap basics - being far more expensive than regular ones. If I were to fall on hard times i'd really struggle as the usual cheap meals of pasta bake and beans on toast, even soup with bread and sandwiches are far more expensive for me to make. There definitely needs to be accountances for allergies made.

But making expensive choices funded by other people?

A lot of people make all kinds of choices, expensive and otherwise, that are funded by other people.

And a lot of political hay is made of the choices of the poor. Or the fact that they seem to believe they have choices.

People who are down on their luck still wish to live with a little dignity, a little of the comforts that boost their spirits. There is more to food than nutrition.

When I donate to food banks I do go down a brand unless something branded I see is on offer then I will opt for that, I have to provide for myself too therefore if I want to donate then I have to price down also that way I can supply more for the food bank too.

I will go back and read the thread but sorry for my ignorance but how does veganism work with a food bank in terms of how do they get enough nutrients and vitamins? Do the foodbank ask for donations of vitamins as well and how do they make sure its a balanced diet?

In regards to your op you are totally right about the branded items being so cheeky but also i think your wrong on the other front. People are allowed to have preferences to their food. Theres a llt i wont eat ever even if i was starving and i would hate to be forced to have it in my home. Being poor doesnt mean you shouldnt have autonomy over what you eat or feed your children.

What an awful thread

Poor people are allowed to make choices too, OP. Catch a grip of yourself

^

Well, apparently they are not. Beggars can't be choosers.

I'd like a Maserati but I'm stuck with a Ford!

What's up with beggars now?!

I was vegetarian. I was critically ill, hours from death... I was told that as part of my recovery I needed x (non veg diet) and I stopped being vegetarian.

Sorry, but that's rubbish.

Yabu ....vegan substitutes need not be expensive...lidl do cheap almond milk etc.
I do get that of you are skint you should budget accordingly and that may mean less vegan choices but either do a good turn non grudgingly or don't.
Fish is more expensive than plant based products etc.

@GalaxyCookieCrumble

What an awful thread

Not really. We're exploring different ideas and putting ourselves in the shoes of others. That's never a bad thing.

Sorry op...misread post. So i ahree that asking for brands is a bit cheeky.

I'm in the States. A local food bank requested extra virgin olive oil. Most working folk can't afford this.

I don't brands any more...they are a rip off when own brands are just as good ( and savers dried pasta is identical to posh dried pasta.....dried pasta is pasta).

how does veganism work with a food bank in terms of how do they get enough nutrients and vitamins? Do the foodbank ask for donations of vitamins as well and how do they make sure its a balanced diet?

Why are you specifically concerned with this for vegans? Do you stop and think if non vegans get all their nutrients and vitamins from the food they get from the food bank?

Absolutely agree that branded items can't be expected through the food bank all the time, but there are plenty of cheap, nutritious vegan foods. No reason you should have to eat something you are morally against.

@Shaniac why single out vegans? How do you know that anyone using a food bank is getting a healthy balanced diet? Do you really think it's the responsibility of the food bank operator to police that?

ahh, jinx with @JM10

Vegan and people struggling financially being bashed on one thread. Hasn’t the OP done well. 🙄

Jeeze people get their knickers in a twist over a simple question dont they? Maybe because vegans cut out 2 whole food sources so need to replace them as they wont get it from elsewhere. Presumably none vegans still get cheese and fish tins from foodbanks that include them. And yeah if your running a foodbank its probably a good idea to make sure at least some of the food is healthy and nutritious otherwise whats to stop them only stocking 20p biscuits?

Nothing against vegans i asked a simple question out of curiosity how else are people supposed to learn. The question was relevant to the conversation so no point in googling a million different results. My own diet mostly consists of sweets and occasionally cheese so im not judging anyone dietary preferences.

Goadiest thread today.

Sorry i meant to say they wont get it from milk or cheese or eggs so need to get it elsewhere.

Ironically, @Shaniac, one of the best ways to get those nutrients (e.g. B12, calcium) is through expensive brands of plant milk, as they're fortified with vitamins. El cheapo brands that everyone in this thread thinks our OP's family should drink probably aren't. Soaking your own oats won't cut it, either.

Ironically, @Shaniac, one of the best ways to get those nutrients (e.g. B12, calcium) is through expensive brands of plant milk, as they're fortified with vitamins. El cheapo brands that everyone in this thread thinks our OP's family should drink probably aren't. Soaking your own oats won't cut it, either.

Thats interesting to know thank you. That changes my earlier view of branded foods and drinks being cheeky. If cheaper ones dont have the same benefits i think its totally ok for the food bank to specify branded.

I would say a job is definitely a privilege right now. Where I live (and probably all over the uk) minimum wage jobs are having 100s of applicants.

Like many have said it is a request not a demand, I wouldn't have a clue about vegan products but a brand name may be helpful to help people find what they are looking for. It would then be up to the donator to substitute it for a unnamed brand.

Also if I became poor enough to need a food bank although of course I would be grateful for any food given I would still have to avoid foods which make me unwell and would hand them back.