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.

@Missey85

They do it because tinned tomatoes are the cheapest you can buy and they can brag to all their friends about how good they are

You are weird.

I personally know the people amongst my friends and family who do stuff for various charities to help people. None of them brag about it.

In my case when I give food away I look at the list the local foodbank wants and give them stuff on the list. Often they ask for tinned tomatoes so that's what I buy as as well as pulses, tinned vegetables, tinned fruit, tinned fish, etc.

The best thing to do is check your food Bank before you shop and drop this week ours are asking for

@sashh if you can't afford a freezer but have a fridge and aren't just cooking for yourself it will make a few meals.

@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.

Agree with this.

This

Growing up poor we often had a tomato sauce with pasta as a meal.
As a student I fed it to DH so often he eventually refused to eat it anymore.

Obviously with more money I use it as base for more complex meals.

My fav food is tinned tomatoes, onion, lentils and stock. So tinned tomatoes would be good for me

When I do a shop for the food bank (there is a donation box in my local Sainsbury’s)

I take a trolley and fill it with a large variety of food.

This includes
Tinned tomato's, tinned veg, pasta, rice, tomato sauce, bake in the oven rolls,tinned fruit, angel delight, biscuits, crisps, chocolate, cereal, pet food and toiletries.

So basics and things that are a non essential treat.

If you have and can afford to run a freezer.

Well, obviously. But people going to FBs aren’t all in identical situations. Some will have access to freezers, hobs and so on. Or do FBs have rules whereby if you can access a freezer or gas for cooking (maybe in a shared house) you’re obviously far too wealthy to need their services?

Ultimately, FBs obviously want tinned tomatoes so this thread is odd. Seems to be an excuse to pick others up on privilege. There will indeed be people using FBs who are cooking, freezing, etc. This doesn’t negate the needs of other people who can’t afford this.

I love tinned tomatoes on toast, one of my favourite breakfasts as a child and still perfect comfort food. I buy whole tinned tomatoes on purpose just so that I can eat them like that. I tend to buy protein foods for the food bank to be honest, but that's because there are usually a fair number of tins of tomatoes in the box already.

You’re being v unreasonable. Just because someone is poor doesn’t mean they have to eat shit food 100% of the time. Believe it or not, people in poverty can cook and they don’t want every meal to be a pot noodle.

The donation box in the supermarket is an odd way to run a food bank anyway. It should be taking money or a tap of a contactless card so the food bank staff can then buy whatever they need.

If you go to somewhere like tesco and tap to donate a £1 or something, Tesco should/could let the foodbank choose goods to the value of £1.10 or something. Food bank gets more stuff and doesn't get random stuff that they have too much of.

Dh serves up tinned tomatoes as a quick veg on the side of anything he has done.

Ah I see, because they use a food bank they cant possibly know how to cook?

Tinned Tomatoes are a staple, most places ask for them.

I think you are being unreasonable, judgmental and mean.

@Djifunrsn

The donation box in the supermarket is an odd way to run a food bank anyway. It should be taking money or a tap of a contactless card so the food bank staff can then buy whatever they need.

If you go to somewhere like tesco and tap to donate a £1 or something, Tesco should/could let the foodbank choose goods to the value of £1.10 or something. Food bank gets more stuff and doesn't get random stuff that they have too much of.

Dh serves up tinned tomatoes as a quick veg on the side of anything he has done.

They're not food Bank staff they're volunteers are they expected to shop as well??

@DeadGood

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

Same here. Tinned tomatoes on toast is a lovely breakfast!

Mine doesn't want bread as it goes off too quickly but it sometimes asks for biscuits

Biscuits are nice

Mine doesn't ever ask for biscuits, but it's what I often include as a 'treat' food. Treats don't have to be poncy crap - Hob Nobs always seem to be welcome. As do little bottles of hot sauce - pretty literally spices things up

Perhaps naively, I also thought until recently that they would provide basics like bread, potatoes, milk, butter, cheese, fruit and vegetables alongside cupboard staples such as pasta and rice and snacks. But I found out when trying to donate apples to my local one recently that fresh food is not even accepted!

Instead of fresh apples, they wanted beans, tinned pies, tinned soups and packets and wouldn't accept fruit or vegetables. I feel really sorry for the people who normally eat fresh food but have to have this processed rubbish out of necessity when they are already having a hard time. And what about children who need the vitamins for their development?

They do provide all those things, but they do not want the public to donate them, because they are harder to store and have shorter dates (risk of going off before they can be distributed). They use their cash donations to buy the fresh food they know they will need, in the quantities they know they will use, for delivery at the time that fits when they will be seeing clients

So if you want to supply fresh food, give them cash - directly or via an app like bankuet

@Augustbirthdays

Ah I see, because they use a food bank they cant possibly know how to cook?

Tinned Tomatoes are a staple, most places ask for them.

I think you are being unreasonable, judgmental and mean.

Ditto

Tinned toms are such a versatile and nutritious ingredient. You can add them to almost anything, soups, stews, sauces and they are good as a side or on toast. I like them with a cheese omelet and peas.

When I was a student we used to blend them up with a veggie stock cube, salt, pepper and milk to make our own cheapie version of cream of tomato soup.

If you go to somewhere like tesco and tap to donate a £1 or something, Tesco should/could let the foodbank choose goods to the value of £1.10 or something. Food bank gets more stuff and doesn't get random stuff that they have too much of

If you shop with Ocado, you can do this - you can add a 'you give we give' voucher for £2.50, £5 or £10 and they match your donation: "We convert your donations to groceries, direct donations, or a combination of both, match it (up to £25,000 per week), then give the total amount to our partners. So, for every pound you give, our partners receive two pounds worth of groceries and/or money"

Some on here have an odd view that everyone who accesses a food bank cooks by candlelight.

@FatCatThinCat

Tinned tomatoes with bread and butter is pure comfort food. Add a poached egg and you'll think you've died and gone to heaven.

Came here to say this! Although I like runny fried eggs with my tinned tomatoes and bread and butter (NOT toast! You have to soak the bread and butter in the mixture) - the egg yolk together with the tomatoes is actual food of the gods

You can use TT for lots of things though . If you put in an oxo cube and heat goes nice with some sausages for example . There is a list in our SB branch and all tinned tomatoes ,beans and so on are welcome! Many people who give to food banks are not wealthy ,they are just getting by .A tin or two kindly donated is surely worth something rather than many well dressed people walking past the open boxes in store?

Tinned tomatoes are versatile. You can use them in a variety of simple, inexpensive meals or on their own on toast with a sprinkling of pepper.
Never under estimate the humble tin of Tom's.

THe food bank I volunteer at has lots of different types of client. Some live in hostels and need microwaveable meals or meals you can make with a kettle. Others are families on hard times struggling to feed their children in a nutritious way - they usually ask for tinned tomatoes and sweetcorn to go with pasta and rice.

My DH loves tinned plum tomatoes on toast. We had tinned tomatoes as a base in a risotto last night. But if you mean a person in a bedsit then they probarly can't use tinned tomatoes with limited cooking facilities, but these days many everyday families are using food banks.