To give Christmas pudding to the foodbank?

[thefairyfellersmasterstroke]

Looking for opinions here - use-by date on the pudding is March 2021. Would donating a specifically Christmas item after the day has passed be a bit insulting, or would it still be used by someone? I'm not sure if it would be a welcome donation or not.

YANBU - Yes, why wouldn't you?
YABU - No, no-one will want it

It’s food! People needing help from food banks really don’t care that the filling, calorific pudding was designed to be ate in one day if the year. Many people buy several Xmas pads so as to have them throughout winter.

I would as it’s food! Might donate some chocolates too...

I think the problem is buying alot of horrible food nowone likes in the first place.

Hayyancairo food banks usually deal with tinned food, pre packaged rice, dried pasta, preserved milk etc. Plus biscuits and the one I support does ask for Christmas items before Christmas.

Parcels are made up to include a selection of foods - veg, meat, fish etc plus I believe they buy in some fresh items, and include tea, coffee, biscuits and tinned desserts.

When these are sold new they often have very long use by dates, e.g. some a year or more. So I think the idea is that people buy new food and pass it on.

Personally, I think it is shameful we have so much and many have so little but it's political systems that are failing; not the fact that food bank have a system.

Plus food banks don't (as far as i know) send food overseas.

I think it is very sad in one of the richest countries in the world people rely on food banks, and that other people are starving. Lots of things wrong with the world.

I would not knowingly do anything to damage it any further by giving a client something that is obviously only one step away from the bin.

I really struggle to believe that a Christmas pudding is a massive affront to someone’s dignity. This reminds me of a post a few years back from someone getting very precious about how much Tesco Value stuff was in the donation bin at their local store. It never seemed to occur to her that someone might want to donate, but couldn’t afford to splash out on brand names.

If you dont want to eat it then would anyone else? I'd keep it.

This is ridiculous. On that basis no one should be eating cucumbers, coffee cake or Bounty bars. After all, I wouldn’t eat them...

Hopefully it will be eaten but you can bet there will be lots of Christmas puddings donated at this time
Of year.

No alcohol for lots of food banks - it’s because it’s triggering for recovering alcoholics

I do find it bizarre that they do not provide sugar. Ffs life is probably miserable enough, without not having sugar in your tea if you want it. Irony being I am sure a lot of the tinned and jarred items probably have very high sugar content.

My friend always buys his in the sales and then spends the year giving it injections of brandy every c uple of weeks ( and I mean injections he had has a syringe and needle for the purpose!!)

Its always delicious You could try that OP

Our food bank takes sugar. Never heard that others didn't before

Donate it - I used to make my mum buy loads at Christmas so we could keep and use them throughout the year as it’s my favourite pudding.

@BigWoollyJumpers

I do find it bizarre that they do not provide sugar. Ffs life is probably miserable enough, without not having sugar in your tea if you want it. Irony being I am sure a lot of the tinned and jarred items probably have very high sugar content.

The Trussell Trust foodbanks put sugar in their parcels as standard for cups of tea.

@waydownwego

Trussell Trust foodbanks won't take food containing alcohol.

They also like to lecture you about the evils of drink and how their clients can't be trusted with alcohol as they are all depraved (or maybe that is just our branch)

I’ve donated an entire Christmas food hamper I received to three different food banks. It was full of stuff I don’t like or eat so why put it to waste?

Ask them but our foodbank wants items with a 6 month use by date so March 2021 would be too short.

Unbelievable, I'm lost for words. I really hope third world countries don't get to know this. Shameful

Long dates are preferred for storage reasons and because they often don't have the volunteer numbers needed to enable regular date checks of stock,long dates also reduces waste as they're not having to regularly bin out of date items (because you can bet there would be complaints if they were).

I would say keep in mind that if food banks do need to throw away food that's out of date, damaged, rotten, whatever, then it probably costs them money for the waste collection.

@Skipsurvey - personally I wouldn't mind if I was given a Christmas pudding after Christmas as in I wouldn't be insulted. However if I've already had Christmas pudding at Christmas I wouldn't want to eat it again (I find it very rich and while delicious - once a year is enough!) and my DC don't like it. In fact I think a lot of DC don't so unless a small pudding I'd rather a different pudding being given. Having said all this - if I recieved one I'd keep it for next Christmas.

@Skipsurvey - you can donate directly to foodbanks with food or money.

@annevonkleve - it's not very kind to tempt those with substance issues with the taste of alcohol which there are many among food bank users. The point is Trussel parcels are made up not arranged individually for the person. And yes, you still get sugar, puddings, chocolate etc

@OxfordwillsaveusbyFebruary - do they really do that?

@annevonkleve

Sugar? Are you serious?

I understand alcohol being triggering for a recovering alcoholic as I have a friend abundantly even have a liquer chocolate as it triggers her but how is sugar a trigger??

come to think of it I had a flatmate at Uni who was bulimic and used to claim a bit of sweet food could trigger her to binge but she would spend like £40 four times a week on a single binge. I don't think that is the kind of demographic that would typically use a good bank, somehow.

Does a Xmas pudding actually count as something containing alcohol? I know some goes into it, but it’s not got an alcoholic volume.

[quote UndertheCedartree]@OxfordwillsaveusbyFebruary - do they really do that? [/quote]
They did to me.

We had moved and we had a massive party with loads of drink left. Our old food bank used to take it and so I called Trussell Trust. .

I got a lecture but basically she said that her clients couldn't be trusted with drink and I didn't understand what types of people they were. I do regular referrals for food banks in my job- to families who would love a bottle of wine and a few cans. I was really quite shocked- it was very evangelical Christian and very patronising about people who used food banks.

Needless to say we now give to a local church food project who love to receive the odd bit of alcohol and pass it on to their clients.

Other TT branches may not be the same.

I buy an extra one every year to keep for Easter Sunday. I love Christmas pudding. I wish the fancy creams were available all year round too. Mmmm 🤪

@CarefreeandInnocent - I've not come across a foodbank that doesn't allow sugar. I mean it would massively restrict what they could give out no baked beans or pasta sauces,no soup or tinned spagetti, no rice pudding or custard, no biscuits or chocolate, no sugar to go in tea or coffee and obviously no mince pies! The food parcels would be cut in half.