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.

I know people have mentioned tin openers but if you have any easy grip ones, they’re needed. Lots of people with physical disabilities use food banks and struggle to open tins and jars.

God, this thread

What a fab thing to do

Our local one state that they cannot accept fresh, perishable items

They do need

Tinned potatoes
Timber spaghetti
Tinned custard
Tinned carrots
Tinned mixed veg
Tinned peas,
Hand wash and hand gel
Laundry tablets/powder

I’d def get them to check on their local food bank websites. Ours say please don’t donate advent calendars or selection packs as they already receive a huge donation from the local Rotary club

I think this is fabulous and as a foodbank volunteer we love receiving these sadly we won't be manning the tesco collections this year so will meet less of those who take part.

Can I ask though that you check what your local foodbank needs. We would not thank you for San Pro particularly as schools can now get what they need elsewhere. (We have bucket loads!) We would however be very grateful of shampoo, shower gel/soap and disinfectant sprays as well as the usual food collections. But this will vary from area to area depending on stocks!

But thank you for encouraging donations!

@Haenow

So much outrage over MPs voting against meals during school holidays. Yet, when somebody is doing something proactive and making a difference, they get shot down.

Because, as you can see from the comments at the beginning, some people simply cannot stomach that someone, let alone certain group, has more money than them... When you mix racism with envy and, favourite past time of dome posters, the race to the bottom, this is what you get...

Sorry OP but this was really not clear to me in your first post:
We challenge family members to buy an extra weeks worth of food and donate to food banks.

In terms of suggestions, food banks usually say what they need on their own website.

Great initiative.
My only suggestion would be to actually ask for sanitary pads and tampons.
(I didn’t know that’s what san pro meant... had to google.. assumed it was some kind of disinfectant)

@Sirzy

As there are a lot of people who volunteer at food banks on the thread - for things like toilet roll is it best to stick with buying 4 packs of toilet rolls or if I was to get one of the big multipacks which often work out a lot better wokld the be able to be split to the individual items and distributed as needed?

(I hope that makes sense!)

Small packs please. We prefer not to split packs. We had a couple of boxes of "Don't Give a Shit" which are great because each roll is individually wrapped so we can send out the amount needed.

This is generosity from the traveller community, for everyone- thank you
Xxxxx

The travelling community have a rich history of this sort of charitable donation. Surprised that people are confused by the inclusion of that word in the title.

I always donate the nicest instant coffee I can find and biscuits. I couldn’t live without coffee!

Well done Op. A great initiative

I think the OP made it perfectly clear. Also the word traveller made it clear she was talking about her community. A quick google if anyone was unclear would have told you all you needed to know if you were confused (some of the posters on this thread.. Jeez).

"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."

Well done OP, I saw it all over FB the last few years, I live in an area with lots of travelling community around us and we have joined in as well with them and donated more to foodbanks due to their initiative and enthusiasm. We have one specific family locally who reaches out to their relatives in other counties asking for help to specific people in need. You all do a great job and should be commended for it.

@listsandbudgets

I have a 5 week rotation

week 1 tinned fish or meat
week 2 some kind of dried food that can be made with boiling water - e.g smash, cuppa soup, porridge cups, pot noodles
week 3 toiletries / nappies / san pro
week 4 tinned fruit and tinned veg
week 5 biscuits or flapjack or the like

Its dried food week this week. Our local food bank does kettle packs - sadly there are people with no access to cooking utensils other than a kettle :(

Every couple of months I also sling in something like a tin opener, wooden spoon, cheap pan or mug (I assume if people need to cook they need something to cook in / with / eat out of)

Ooo I really like that. It's efficient

Good luck OP, no idea why you got the response you got. It was pretty obvious what your OP said.

@peachypetite - I would have thought it was fairly obvious that by stating "family members" that means her/their own family members, rather than just randoms....

Jemima

Do you know I was the same with san pro, I heard it on here first
Point noted and
Not thanking everybody individually but I am posting all your suggestions and of course thanks to the volunteers on here giving their advice and support.

What about things like sandwich bags or cling film, tinfoil etc?

Keep any food fresher for longer, useful for packed lunches and freezing things, to line old baking trays for cooking

Thanks for posting this op. It is a good prompt for me to remember to donate to the food bank. I tend to try to add the character spaghetti for the children as mine used to this as a big treat! although i havent thought about laundry stuff.
People seem to be getting in a real tizz about it being a weeks shop but I think it's a good way to think about what is needed and not fall back on beans and san pro which it seems like the FB are full of.
Interestingly I hadnt heard about it which makes me sad that it just increases prejudice against the whole traveller community

Also savoury snacks.

2 people in my household don't like sweets and chocolate but could get through breadsticks, crackers etc quite happily

@peachypetite - how on earth is it unclear? How would you have worded it?!

When I was small (not so long ago, I'm only 30), lots of the shops in the areas we were had 'no travellers' signs whacked up on the door over night. I can remember crying because I had been promised some sweeties and we were physically barred at the door to the shop, while my mum asked if she could just hand over the money and we'd stay outside. Not allowed.

Fuck all has changed it seems.

Thank you OP. That's a brilliant thing to do. There's a new local charity that's helping people in our area who are experiencing food poverty. My DH and I will be supporting this I think. Not with food - they've asked for cash. This is easier for us anyway.

That's amazingly generous! Can I suggest though to anyone taking part they consider donating money so food banks can purchase exactly what is needed, we are knee deep in pasta, chopped tomatoes and san pro but lack protein sources completely, money means we can purchase (and at 10% discount, thank you local Lidl) the gaps in donations.

Again amazing. We have pledged to buy Christmas dinner for a family ourselves but a whole week's shopping is beyond us alas

Why are posters being such arseholes to the OP?
They only asked for food bank ideas!
I've heard of this challenge before, saw it on FB last year I think it was.
Basically traveller families had a challenge going on where they donated to foodbanks, our local one benefitted greatly from the last challenge.

Maybe stuff like
Hot chocolate
toilet roll
toothpaste
nappies
that kind of thing

A lovely thing to do. I wonder if religious belief is part of the heritage of this kind of giving - in our area, the Muslim community also do a huge amount in terms of giving to feed banks as well as delivering food/helping as volunteers.

People who volunteer - how well do tinned tuna/sardines etc go down? Or is it better to give more corned beef etc? And what about something like pancake mix? I also wondered about colouring books and pen sets.

Do all foodbanks refuse alcohol donations? Tbh that surprised me, reading that upthread. I thought a small bottle of wine at Christmas might be a nice thing for a struggling family. Poor does not mean alcoholic... :) Or is that just religious organisations' banks?