AIBU to think that donating tinned tomatoes to the food bank shows a real lack of understanding of food poverty?

[BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz]

The food bank donation box at my local supermarket this morning had a fairly good mix of items, apart from about a third of the tins were tinned tomatoes.

Surely it would be better all round to donate products which need little to no additional ingredients?

Tinned tomatoes are a base - they will never be a meal in their own right. They need at the bare minimum, some seasoning and or some veg or protein to make them useable.

And then even if you could rustle up some other ingredients to make them palateable/nutritious, you need to heat them - if they contain meat or lentils they need a good length of time on the heat.

Those using food banks likely cannot give over 20mins on the hob for tinned tomatoes. The cost of heating up the food (if there is even funds on the meter) is too high for the return.

I do think that people who donate tinned tomatoes, come at it from a reasonably comfortable point of view - just chuck it in with some mince and a bit if garlic and slow cook it for a couple of hours.

All of which is likely to be outside of the financial scope of the recipient.

It's one of the things my local one asks for. I imagine they know what is needed.

who is cooking tinned tomatoes on the hob for 20 minutes?

I run a food bank. One of our sessions is a “supermarket” where recipients choose what they’d like from our shelves. Tinned toms are always popular (along with cereals, baked beans, bread, pasta/rice and treat items, thinking of the most popular). There are all sorts of different circumstances among food bank users, so some absolutely can and do cook with basic ingredients.

I like tinned tomatoes as they are. Maybe I’m unusual though.

@Brefugee

who is cooking tinned tomatoes on the hob for 20 minutes?

Me! Tinned tomatoes are so much better when they've been cooked through properly.

No, because as a student I had tinned tomatoes with pasta, or with toast. LOADS of stuff in the food bank needs other stuff to go with it! Cereal needs milk, for example. Beans aren’t a meal on their own. I don’t really see there’s a lot wrong with having a couple of tins of tomatoes to chuck with something else. No one is suggesting that the tin is the meal?!

I think a lot of people aren't aware of how poverty shows up. I give pasta mug shots to the food bank and other things that can be 'cooked' by a kettle. I hate doing it, it's food I'd never eat, but I know that keeping fuel costs down is an equal priority.

That all said, sometimes they ask for specific items and I've seen tinned toms on that list.

Turn up the flame if your tinned tomatoes take 20 mins to cook...

You're right that they're a base but that makes them incredibly versatile so they're a really good thing to donate.

Tinned tomatoes, dry pasta and rice are probably the best donations.

Ready made things that don't need heating up but have a good shelf life would be?

Tinned tomatoes on toast was a common lunch when I was growing up. They only need 5 minutes on the hob and a sprinkle of salt, and they get one of your five a day in

They aren't just a base. Ha e you never had tinned tomatoes on toast?

I think you’re virtue signaling. Of all the people to criticise, those who donate to food banks probably shouldn’t be at the top of your list.

@Brefugee

who is cooking tinned tomatoes on the hob for 20 minutes?

I just mean if you are putting lentils or veg in with them etc.

Nutritionally they’re one of the better things to donate, ours is always crying out for tinned fruit and veg.

You sound a bit holier than thou OP.

Not sure this is fair. For one thing, my local foodbank ask for them all the time, so someone must be using them! And tinned tomatoes on their own make a reasonable pasta sauce. I also loved tinned tomatoes on toast for a quick and cheap tea. You can cook pasta and tinned tomatoes in a microwave even if a hob isn’t available.

Obviously they aren’t the be all and end all, but they’re a nutritious, easily-cooked food which can also be used to bulk out other things (tinned lentils, rice, etc) to make food stretch further.

If 2/3 of the offering was tomatoes it suggests that people aren’t checking in advance of donating what the foodbank needs that week - that’s always worth doing, as a general rule.

I think you're making a lot of very broad and likely incorrect assumptions about people who use food banks.

Tinned toms are requested at ours.

YABU, OP, time to accept that.

@HelpMeTree

I think you’re virtue signaling. Of all the people to criticise, those who donate to food banks probably shouldn’t be at the top of your list.

Interesting perspective.

I certainly didn't start this to do anything other than query why TTs were so heavily donated as (imo) they are not what I would think would be suitable.

Tinned tomatoes on toast is food of the gods.

Tinned tomatoes can be eaten cold.

They can be a side dish like any veg.

They can be put in a pan with a tin of some other vegetable to make a simple, if not very tasty meal.

They can be put in a pan and have pasta added to make another simple meal.

They can be broken up with a potato masher to make a soup either on their own or adding other ingredients.

They can be put on toast like beans.

They are suitable for vegetarians, vegans, people of various faiths.

YABU

@PlausibleSuit

I think you're making a lot of very broad and likely incorrect assumptions about people who use food banks.

I have some experience of working with people who use these services, so my opinion is formed mainly from my conversations with them.

However I accept that TTs are more of a meal than I initially thought. Interesting that food banks request them.

I read the list at the collection point.

Sometimes tinned toms are listed.

Also, our supermarket serves an area which is not at all wealthy. People want to give but in reality can spare very little, and a tin of toms is cheap.

But most donations seem to be baked beans and pasta.

@Thecathouse

Tinned tomatoes on toast was a common lunch when I was growing up. They only need 5 minutes on the hob and a sprinkle of salt, and they get one of your five a day in

They aren't just a base. Ha e you never had tinned tomatoes on toast?

I haven't, no. For cooking, I prefer to buy chopped tomatoes, which usually cost the same. Whole plum tomatoes in a tin usually contain lots of juice. Doesn't it make the toast go soggy? I love fried tomatoes on toast, though.

Tinned tomatoes make a good base for soup as well as all the other things mentioned. The food bank where I help occasionally has a lot of fresh food that needs cooking and they always have tinned tomatoes, sometimes oil too.

At our church foodbank, the jars of pasta sauce, with the garlic and herbs already in, that just need heating are more popular than tinned tomatoes.

Tinned tomatoes on toast. Salt and pepper.

Tinned tomatoes, cooked rice tinned peas and sweetcorn. (+Tuna or chickpeas) microwave

Tinned veg, curry powder. ( The savers one) tinned chick peas, tinned tomatoes. tinned potatoes
Microwave/heat through on stove.
Savers herbs are about 30p a pot.

Maybe it's you who lack imagination?