Travellers foodbank challenge.

[Devilesko]

Posting for traffic and suggestions.

We have started the fb challenge again this year as it's needed more than ever.
We challenge family members to buy an extra weeks worth of food and donate to food banks. Nobody is left out, we all have to rise to the challenge and want to, tbh.

I have posted on dozens of pages asking to remember to include san pro.
If anyone has suggestions that might be forgotten, I'd appreciate the heads up. Also, just to let the people in supermarkets and food banks aware, as this is usually done on such a big scale.

So far I have family in Leicester and Cheshire signing up. But will post other areas as I become aware.
Any suggestions will be very helpful.
Tia.

thewitches

I think that your idea is brilliant.
fb challenges aren't for everybody but being kind and charitable if you can afford it is commendable.

Have heard from family (very extended, to you) in Northwich, Crewe, Winsford, mid Cheshire areas.
I've caught up with all the suggestions and I'm sure they're sick of me posting remember .....
Some have got back with thanks for things they wouldn't have considered too, so completely worth struggling to find the helpful posts at the beginning.

I agree it's a very generous offer, I am involved in our local FBs and we had two very large donations last year from members of the travellers community.

But can I please reiterate to check with your local FB what they actually need - storage can be a real problem and many FBs are drowning in pasta, baked beans and tampax but may genuinely need other items.

Great stuff Devilesko - good luck.

Hot chocolate is a good shout as it's a warming treat and can be made without milk. Those pancake shakers might be good too - you just add water and pancakes don't take long to cook so a nice breakfast if you want something warm and it saves any eggs, bread or milk for other meals.

I'm not going to read all 14 pages to see if other people have said this already but I volunteer at a food bank and if you are going to spend money, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE just give it to the food bank as a donation instead of shopping. Yes, you can call today to see what they need, but that may change in the time it takes you to shop and drop it off - and, importantly, the food bank has relationships with suppliers who may give them discounts, and they are also able to buy in bulk, so the money goes so much further when they spend it compared to when you spend it.

Yes, I know it makes you feel good to do the shopping and choose things and imagine the people using the things you are buying, but your donation is so much more valuable as cash. The food bank where I volunteer has to throw away so much of what is donated because it goes out of date - if we had cash instead, we could have bought what was needed as it was needed. The waste breaks my heart.

Been putting Sanpro in our local foodbank...have found that if you're getting a supermarket delivery which allows substitution... and you put the cheapest ones in.... then frequently you actually get either better supermarket ones or branded....
Btw... I actually use basics myself so not asking others to use what I wouldn't.... just asking for 3 or 4 instead of just 1 pack...

@Wroxie
Why can't extra food be offered if there is too much of one thing and it could go out of date? I have been poor and a couple of extra bags of pasta could have helped to free up money for other foods. I understand it would be preferable to have what you need to be able to give out more parcels though.

Wroxie

Thank you so much and you posted at exactly the right time.
A few elders would need family members to go for them and a lot are busy themselves.
Perfect solution.
Genius

@kowari that's a good question- there are issues of logistics and storage for both the food bank and the people that are served. Maybe they can't carry extra pasta or tinned food home because they walk or on public transport, for example, and at least at the food bank where I volunteer, space is at a premium - if we have ten shelves of dried pasta that means we don't have room for other things we need more (UHT milk and eggs take up a lot of space, for example, and are always in high demand). We also need to be able to create the right kind of parcels for people. Someone without a hob isn't going to do much with dried pasta. Someone feeding two primary-age kids probably isn't going to get much use out of, for example, tinned mackerel. Food banks aren't just about shoving whatever food we have in at people and hoping they manage to get on with it OK. It's about giving them the right food for their needs and circumstances.

Pasta is an interesting example- people donate it because they think it's something that everyone can eat and which lasts forever, which is true, but even our customers with the facilities to cook it really do have more of it than they know what to do with (compared to other types of food, at least). You can get 500g of spaghetti for 20p at Tesco today. What they don't have are sauces and proteins to make it into a meal.

Thanks for highlighting this OP. I hadn't heard of it and sounds great. I feel sad if you saw any nasty comments before they were removed. Well done to your community.

What a lovely post. I gave up reading the comments because they went a bit weird and horrible, so I'm probably repeating things...

Nappies
Formula
Nappy bags
Sudocrem
Toothpaste (adult and children's)
Toothbrushes (adult and children's)
Soap/handwash
Shampoo, conditioner, facewash, shower gel, moisturiser etc
Toilet paper
Washing up liquid
Laundry detergent/fabric softener/antibac cleanser
Kitchen/bathroom surface spray, sponges etc
Kitchen roll
Bleach
UHT milk
Oats
Pasta sauces/stirfry sauces
Cooking oil/cooking oil spray

Depending on the time of year that you are donating, maybe some advent calendars or selection boxes too?

Good luck with your project

@Wroxie

I'm not going to read all 14 pages to see if other people have said this already but I volunteer at a food bank and if you are going to spend money, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE just give it to the food bank as a donation instead of shopping. Yes, you can call today to see what they need, but that may change in the time it takes you to shop and drop it off - and, importantly, the food bank has relationships with suppliers who may give them discounts, and they are also able to buy in bulk, so the money goes so much further when they spend it compared to when you spend it.

Yes, I know it makes you feel good to do the shopping and choose things and imagine the people using the things you are buying, but your donation is so much more valuable as cash. The food bank where I volunteer has to throw away so much of what is donated because it goes out of date - if we had cash instead, we could have bought what was needed as it was needed. The waste breaks my heart.

That's disgraceful, the foodbank could offer the food nearing sell by date to clients or even others in the community.

Some useful items in here.

What an amazing thing to do OP. No suggestions but just wanted to say this is lovely!

@Wroxie
I understand that different families have different needs and that not all will be able to use extra pasta if they don't have a stove top for example. I understand storage space and carrying it home too. Surely there are other families who could use extra food, on top of a standard food parcel though? If I have a bag of pasta and a couple of tins in the cupboard then that's money that can be spent on other food (when I do get paid). I'm surprised you don't have families wanting to take a few extras!

Yes, I know it makes you feel good to do the shopping and choose things and imagine the people using the things you are buying, but your donation is so much more valuable as cash

It's not about good feeling. I simply don't trust that all the money will go where I want them to. Sorry, it sounds harsh, but no point lying here.

And well. Obviously that foodbank isn't needed in the area. Why can't it move food to a different one where it won't be thrown away? Or refuse donations and direct people away?

Yes, I know it makes you feel good to do the shopping and choose things and imagine the people using the things you are buying, but your donation is so much more valuable as cash. The food bank where I volunteer has to throw away so much of what is donated because it goes out of date - if we had cash instead, we could have bought what was needed as it was needed. The waste breaks my heart.

That doesn't make sense, if your food bank isn't needed that much then why not send the stuff somewhere where it'll be used within the date? Letting it go out of date is a waste.

@Wroxie none of what you describe is the case at the foodbank where I volunteer.

OP keep encouraging people to check with their local foodbanks. They'll say what they need, whether that be cash or corned beef!

Yes, I know it makes you feel good to do the shopping and choose things and imagine the people using the things you are buying, but your donation is so much more valuable as cash.

I'm very tight on money at the mo, so what I do is look for things like 3 for 2 offers, or reduced if you buy 4, and donate the extra on the way out of the supermarket. This way I can give more for the same money compared to donating the cash.

Not everyone spends hundreds of pounds on a weeks shopping so it could be affordable. The OP could put a sum away every week to have a lump sum to buy items for the food bank once a year?

@SchrodingersImmigrant @gamerchick @Gingerkittykat it's not that easy, we have limited resources and finding people to take the food and then delivering that food isn't always financially or time viable. Another reason why cash donations are better than food donations - we need vans, petrol, PPE for drivers and other volunteers, internet and computers for the office, cleaning supplies, the list goes on and on... do you think the food just magically teleports itself to where it needs to be? We have to serve the community first and serve the donations second. Sometimes there are conflicts.

Just to be clear, the food bank where I volunteer doesn't throw away dried goods when we get too many of them. We make it work, find additional storage, stack it higher, offer it to other organisations if they can come pick it up, deliver it ourselves (sometimes in our own cars in violation of policy), whatever we can do without threatening the main service we are there to provide. And we do encourage people to take more of a specific item if they want it or need it, but the fact is they often just don't want to. If anyone is wondering, most of the food we have to throw away are bread, pastries, and fresh milk/dairy, along with a few crates every week of ALREADY EXPIRED OR OPENED food that people have seen fit to donate.

@FreezerBird I find that really surprising, to be honest, and it would be an interesting conversation, but you've chosen not to elaborate and instead to just shut down the dialogue. I am not sure what your reason for that is, but anyway, every food bank is different, every community is different, and every population served is different.