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.

I give whatever mine is asking for. Sometimes that's tinned tomatoes. YABU.

tinned toms are a GOOD sauce of vit c - as most food parcels do not contain fresh fruit & veg its important & can last a long time & has a pp state has multiple uses as a base for many meals &can be used on pizza bases instead of tom puree (I use to render them down to make them thicker) & on their own as a side veg with eggs or sausages & toast

@user1491404899

Op....just admit you are wrong

Very unlikely

@MrsAvocet

Not read the whole thread but I'll put my hand up and admit that I don't know a lot about food poverty However I assume that the people who run the foodbanks know what they're talking about. I check their website for "this week we particularly need..." and buy those things, whether they are items that appeal to me or not. I imagine most donors do the same, so if you have knowledge that inappropriate things are being donated OP I would suggest you talk to the foodbanks rather than criticise the donors, who are just trying to help and largely do what they are asked by the banks.

This. It's a good skill to know when to be lead by those who know.

Trussell Trust advised parcel contents (guess what it includes!!)
norwoodbrixton.foodbank.org.uk/get-help/whats-in-a-food-parcel/

As someone who has used a food bank a couple of times, I'll tell you that when they give you the bags of shopping they give a list and all ingredients and recipes of how to meal plan and mix it all to last (however long you've told them you need it to last). TT are given WITH other ingredients and you're told step by step what to make etc.

As a food bank user myself I am always delighted to get tinned tomatoes. They're yummy on toast

Very unlikely

Catty.

I failed to consider the requirement for food banks from working families who have emergencies that mean they need help. I considered them mainly from a perspective of seeing people who cannot heat their home on a single person benefit, cannot spend money on fresh ingredients, cannot afford to run/buy/repair cooking facilities or hold a small stock of pantry ingredients.

This thread has opened my eyes in seeing how far stretching the need for food banks spreads.

I was wrong to only consider one customer base for the food banks.

@Aposterhasnoname

Tinned tomatoes on toast is food of the gods.

Food of the Devil more like.

@TheAntiGardener

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.

My point was that making and freezing is only economical if you have access to and can afford to run a freezer.

And yes I know people who use food banks live in all sorts of different circumstances but the thing about tins is they don't need a fridge or a freezer.

@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.

I do agree with the OP but see how other stuff and a decent amount of 'food literacy' and equipment is needed

Chilli con carne and bolognaise spring to mind, requiring (aldi prices):
an onion/s (35p)
Italian herbs/cumin/oregano (45p ea)
Basics spaghetti (30p)
Basics rice (30p)
Beef stock cubes (30p)
Garlic (45p)

Plus
A good quality cooking pan and knife
Gas or electricity to power cooker

Somehwere locally (family action I think) do food clubs and bulk buy/reclaim food surplus however what they put in a parcel seems logical. Much like the children's food parcels over the summer, it should be obvious about the combinations that can be made through the bank donation, with 3-4 logical meals and most of the basics to make them included

@Aposterhasnoname

Tinned tomatoes on toast is food of the gods.

Definitely!

Well, @BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz, you have proved me wrong, and credit to you for returning.
Many good points have been made on this thread about food and poverty.
The best advice being to check what's needed- which is often tinned tomatoes!

The foodbank I helped out at, I spent a fair while explaining that passata is just tomatoes - it's not a pasta sauce....

The thing that really got me was people who seemed to have emptied their cupboards and just chucked all the out of date food into the foodbank collection point.
We had food that was years out of date, half eaten bars of chocolate rewrapped in clingfilm, all sorts of crap gets "donated"...

Chilli con carne
Meat and / or veg and beans
Tin of tomatoes
Chilli con carne seasoning

Spag bol
Meat / veg and beans
Tin of tomatoes
Pinch of mixed herbs

Rice, spaghetti for either

We don't carry much in the way of herbs and spices, but what we do get through a lot if is chilli mix and mixed herbs. Winter we see a mixed spice mix rise in popularity too - sprinkle over porridge, in a hot chocolate or coffee. Lots of uses that may not spring to mind initially.

Which reminds me, I need to dig out the huge stockpots. We're about to get a lot of squash/ pumpkins. Soup or pie/crumble, add a little pinch of spice.

And it disappears really quickly!

I would have thought tinned tomatoes were pretty useful precisely because they are a base for so many recipes.

Tinned tomatoes on toast, a staple of my childhood. Or just with bread and butter. YABU.

Regardless of the uses of tinned tomatoes, this thread reminded me to go and donate a few things to the food bank, so maybe not as bad a thread as first perceived 🤷🏼‍♀️

If it was a tin of Bolognese with meat already in you would still need to heat it really, and water for the pasta. I agree that some people in food poverty may not be able to use the oven/stove every night but as far as I’m aware the food bank doesn’t take perishables and most things in a tin would need to be heated.

Not heating stuff in a tin would leave options of lots of tinned fruit, sweet corn, beans, cold rice pudding.

I’d of thought you’d want to heat most meat through to be on the safe side! If it made you sick you wouldn’t have much nourishment to help you recover.

Anyway, I think an assumption you are making is that people who donate to food banks can afford to donate more than a smart price can of tomatoes or similar. It’s not generally millionaires donating to these things as penny pinching is how they stay rich.

It’s usually the poor who are most generous because they know the value of things (philosophically)

Most people donating are also trying to stay within their own budget whilst doing their bit.

UANBU to think that people should check with their local food bank what is needed

UABU to turn your nose up at a versatile ingredient like tomatoes

Toast, tinned tomatoes and grated cheese. My favourite. Or tinned tomatoes and pasta and grated cheese.

Yes @Silvercatowner Whenever food banks are discussed here there always seems to be a patronising, very black and white view of the people who use food banks. As if they are completely incapable of independent thought and will only be able to make ready-made food and cannot manage their money

Apologies, @ClaudiaWankleman, I took your post to mean you didn't consider some foodbank users to be able to think for themselves.

"Obv some opinions and garlic would be ideal bit "

I'm probably not the only one who'd digest it better without onion and garlic.

Not read the thread but you've just reminded me, m and s do really tasty canned curry type meals, and stuff like that, with some bags of microwave rice would be a comforting dish.

The webpage for my local food bank always says they’re looking for tinned fruit and veg. There must be requests for these items by the people using the food bank.

Why do you think food bank users don't cook? Tinned tomatoes is a base for so many recipes.
Our food bank has a list of five or six items as you go in. I always try to get at least three, and not just own brand value stuff but nice varieties. Just because you need a food bank doesn't mean you don't like tasty, interesting food and can't cook.