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 put in coffee, tea bags, biscuits, sanitary towels, soap, shampoo, toothpaste etc as where I shop there seems to be lots of food donations and not much other stuff
Now we are nearing Xmas also look out for toy donation schemes - craft kits, colouring stuff and jigsaws plus activity books can be suitable for girls and boys across a wide age range

@TheWayTheLightFalls

Thank you!

My family member works at a food bank and says the best thing that you can donate is money: that way they can buy what they are short on as and when they need to.

Tin openers are also needed, and toiletries and cleaning products.

But YABU OP, tinned tomatoes on toast is a meal in its own right.

Often had tinned tomatoes on toast for tea when growing up and at university, at university I added the excitement of grated cheese to make it a full on meal. They are a great item for quick meals with some nutrients, have them with pasta to make an easy tomato sauce or with rice to make tomato rice.

Tinned toms are exactly what you need when you’ve barely got anything else in - they can make almost anything a ‘meal’. Eg frozen green beans, rice, pasta, a slightly green potato. Any one of these things can be cheered up by stirring it into a tin of chopped tomatoes and you can pretend it’s a stew.

Yes, add an onion or spring onions and you've got a basic stew.

The are number 3 on the list of requested items at our local foodbank.

All these people that have tinned tomatoes on toast...are we talking plum or chopped, and doesn't the bread get really soggy, especially if you're just heating it up and not reducing the liquid?

@GreenLunchBox

All these people that have tinned tomatoes on toast...are we talking plum or chopped, and doesn't the bread get really soggy, especially if you're just heating it up and not reducing the liquid?

Plum or cherry.

And you make the toast so it's reasonably well done, butter it well, and eat fast!

@DroopyClematis my local food bank asks for packets of noodles so due to the demographics of the area I end up buying a mixture.

YABU. Tinned tomatoes are really versatile and one of your 5 a day. One of our local foodbanks is asking for them

YABU.

Colon and other digestive cancers declined massively with the advent of tinned food. Although not as good as fresh, it made nutritious food accessible for the urban working classes. People who use food banks shouldn't be expected to live on pure crap. As PP have said, there's plenty of ways to use them cheaply.

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.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz Most people will have a microwave and/or oven. If they can't spend money on fresh ingredients, that's exactly why some tinned tomatoes etc could be good. The food parcels are basic and people could get by on them, but some herbs/spices/seasonings would enhance them.

Although not as good as fresh

@thecatsthecats Tinned and frozen fruit and veg are pretty much as good as fresh, if not better, depending how fresh the fresh is.

Tinning or freezing preserves all the nutrients.

Food banks don't want tinned tomatoes, and the people who use them certainly don't. The most important things to donate are ...-Tinned fruit and veg

So which is it @HarrietsChariot? No tinned tomatoes or tinned fruit and veg accepted?

My local food banks are always asking for tinned tomatoes because there is such high demand for them so clearly your experience is not the same as mine.

Equally not everyone using food banks are lacking in cooking facilities (either in terms of the gas/electric needed or kitchen facilities like oven/microwave/toaster/kettle) or coming from long term poverty. Some just need a short term boost so having "ingredient" options to supplement existing supplies rather than just processed options meant to cover all nutritional needs is not a bad thing to have.

I had to use a foodbank once because, as a single parent on low income I get UC top ups, but because I get paid 4weekly I had one month where I got paid twice and so it messed up my claim and we were left short at the end of the month. I had some pantry staples and basics in, essential bills (rent, council tax, water, gas, electric etc) were all paid, I was just short on money for groceries and day to day expenses. When I went to the food bank I just needed enough to tide us over until payday, and it was only a short term need, so I didn't need pot noodles and microwave pasta because I only had a kettle and microwave, I had a full kitchen available so tinned tomatoes and a bag of pasta was a much better option to add to the onion, cheese and half tube of garlic puree I already had at home as it made a cheap, filling pasta dish that could do multiple portions (and I could mix it up with various other odds and ends to bulk out the meal)

I donate tinned onions as well as tinned tomatoes. You can mix them together and heat them through in a couple of minutes, and have the basis of a sauce for pasta or rice.

@thecatsthecats

YABU.

Colon and other digestive cancers declined massively with the advent of tinned food. Although not as good as fresh, it made nutritious food accessible for the urban working classes. People who use food banks shouldn't be expected to live on pure crap. As PP have said, there's plenty of ways to use them cheaply.

Do you have a link for that?

Genuinely interested, as tinned food was first produced commercially in 1813 (meat) and 1825 (fruit and veg), and I didn't think cancer stats went that far back

You can make tinned tomatoes on toast and an egg. Or sausages, mash and tinned tomatoes. Or egg, chips and tinned tomatoes. I think it's an easy way of getting some nutrients, if you're on a budget.

I'm having tinned tomatoes on toast for breakfast in the back of this thread! Thanks :D

@RoseAndRose not a scientific study so may not be as true as some reports but this is an easy to read piece.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/oct/05/tinned-tomatoes-health-benefits-anti-cancer-strong-bones

Tinned tomatoes on bread in a bowl was a meal in our house when money was scarce

Fair play to OP for admitting they were wrong. They've done a valuable service though in reminding people to donate to foodbanks and look at what the foodbanks themselves are requesting.

Another option if you have the cashflow is to set up a regular money donation to the foodbank. Regular donation means they'll know how much they have coming in each month which can make it easier for planning. And it means you won't forget! They can then use it to buy whatever they're short of, or even cover costs (their own energy use, fuel if they're delivering at all, etc).

Yep . Fair play to OP. Still wincing at the title of this OP though

"donating tinned tomatoes ....shows a real lack of understanding "

But in fairness, I was reminded to donate at the supermarket yesterday, so all good. Cheers OP.

@me4real

Although not as good as fresh

@thecatsthecats Tinned and frozen fruit and veg are pretty much as good as fresh, if not better, depending how fresh the fresh is.

Tinning or freezing preserves all the nutrients.

Apologies, I meant not quite as good - by a fractional degree. And I suppose tinned stuff isn't organic.

Apologies, I don't have a link to hand, but my source was my mum, who has an MA that focused on medical historical research, so I assume she got it from a reliable source!

I have used a food bank before and have been glad to receive tinned tomatoes. They are useful for bulking up a meal and for making soup with.
There are lots of different people who need to use a food bank.