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.

Why not consider campaigning for change so that foodbanks don't have to exist. It's sad that it's become so normalised to 'pop a few things into the foodbank for the poor people'. Everyone should be able to buy food. It's government policies that so many can't.

I've had to use the foodbank a couple of times due to aforementioned government policies. It was OK but my legs got swollen and I felt ill from all the salt in the tinned food. I was grateful for it, but it shouldn't need to exist and you are all talking as if it's all so normal that in a developed country like the UK that so many should need charity food to survive.

Think.

Instead of chattering away about the merits of tinned tomatoes versus ready made pasta sauce. Think. ALL people should be able to purchase foods they choose. There's no reason why the vast, vast majority wouldn't be able to in the UK, except political choice. Ask yourself why then is there such huge demand at foodbanks. Had you heard of foodbanks on such a large scale fifteen/twenty years ago?

Think. About how demoralising it would be to need to receive food charity, that you didn't choose yourself, that if you had even a smallish budget for food you would have made different choices, and then go on to read a bunch of people online chattering about what they think you'll want or need. When all you want is to have enough to buy your own food.

FOOD.
A very basic need.
Think about that.

But no doubt you'll all ignore this and keep going on about chopped tomatoes.

There was a woman in the radio earlier, representing a charity, she says she has a policy to never criticise anyone who is trying to help someone else.

@pineapplevape

Instead of chattering away about the merits of tinned tomatoes versus ready made pasta sauce. Think. ALL people should be able to purchase foods they choose. There's no reason why the vast, vast majority wouldn't be able to in the UK, except political choice. Ask yourself why then is there such huge demand at foodbanks. Had you heard of foodbanks on such a large scale fifteen/twenty years ago?

Think. About how demoralising it would be to need to receive food charity, that you didn't choose yourself, that if you had even a smallish budget for food you would have made different choices, and then go on to read a bunch of people online chattering about what they think you'll want or need. When all you want is to have enough to buy your own food.

FOOD.
A very basic need.
Think about that.

... but plenty of food banks have a choose your own food options...

Tinned tomatoes on buttered soft bread with a healthy twist of cracked black pepper.... Yum!! 😋

@pineapplevape

But no doubt you'll all ignore this and keep going on about chopped tomatoes.

Given that this thread is about chopped tomatoes, and the merits or not of donating them to a food bank, that's not unreasonable.

There's plenty of space on these forums to start your own thread if you want to discuss something else

@00100001 Missing the point a bit there.

@FluffyBooBoo Don't any of you actually want to write to your MPs etc about WHY so many people are needing charity food in the UK though??

Look, I'm not trying to attack any of you, I get you are trying to help - I'm just exasperated tbh. Why is it so normalised for you, that so so many people need charity food in the UK?? I'm pretty sure I'm the only person on this whole thread who has said wait a minute, why aren't we trying to do something, campaign, demand, that food charity stops being the norm in the UK for so many??

Tinned tomatoes on toast. Yum

@pineapplevape how do you know we aren't involved in campaigning and petitioning for things to change so no one needs for banks? So you honestly think you're the only person who's thought of that?
It's possible to campaign for change and discuss what food banks need. Any change that happens, if it happens at all, won't be over night. So for banks will still be needed for the foreseeable.

The list on the foodbank basket at our local supermarket this week was:
Rice, Rice Pudding, tinned fish, uht milk, tinned potatoes, fruit juice and coffee.

This is a bonkers thread.

I would quite happily give fresh meat, fish, veg to a food bank or high quality nutritious pre prepared meals but they ask for long life tinned foods. They specifically ask for tinned tomato’s, beans and pasta. This is the reason that “most people who donate to food banks give these things” ffs.

[quote pineapplevape]@FluffyBooBoo Don't any of you actually want to write to your MPs etc about WHY so many people are needing charity food in the UK though??

Look, I'm not trying to attack any of you, I get you are trying to help - I'm just exasperated tbh. Why is it so normalised for you, that so so many people need charity food in the UK?? I'm pretty sure I'm the only person on this whole thread who has said wait a minute, why aren't we trying to do something, campaign, demand, that food charity stops being the norm in the UK for so many??[/quote]
MPs don’t give a shit. Have you got any other suggestions?

@CiaoForDiNiaoSaur I'd wager a bet that 95% of those commenting on this thread have never even written to their MPs about the subject, no. Even less have been involved in any campaigning.

I’m late to this thread, but during lockdown our local community had a free food hub going to supplement food bank usage - one important issue was that people with special diets can’t always eat processed food donated to food banks so are left without things to cook. We had a lady who was shielding for severe health problems including T1 diabetes who was also Muslim and vegetarian - she had run out of food, couldn’t leave the house and could eat hardly anything from the food bank as it all had too much sugar or was meat based. She desperately needed basics like ruined tomatoes, onions, and lentils to make things she could eat.

Lots of people don’t eat premade pasta sauce for various reasons. Especially those who are from cultures where they are vegetarian or cook from scratch. Tinned tomatoes are an essential!

@WithANameLikeDaniCalifornia If enough people wrote to them and mentioned that things like benefit cuts, the 5 week wait for benefits, how the disabled are treated, and zero hours contracts - are issues which will be influencing their voting choices, then maybe they'd care??

Or you could just watch the ever escalating slide into it being normalised that such huge numbers of people need charity food in the UK every month / year ??

Tinned tomatoes! Not ruined tomatoes

I work in social care and where I live quite a few people who may use food banks are vegan or have health issues like high blood pressure so plain unprocessed food is welcome.

Are they ruined though?

[quote pineapplevape]@FluffyBooBoo Don't any of you actually want to write to your MPs etc about WHY so many people are needing charity food in the UK though??

Look, I'm not trying to attack any of you, I get you are trying to help - I'm just exasperated tbh. Why is it so normalised for you, that so so many people need charity food in the UK?? I'm pretty sure I'm the only person on this whole thread who has said wait a minute, why aren't we trying to do something, campaign, demand, that food charity stops being the norm in the UK for so many??[/quote]
You might be the only person that has said it on this thread (which, as I said, is about the merits of tinned tomatoes for people that need to use food banks).

You are also the only person making the (fairly massive) assumption that nobody is being proactive in other ways. I don't think it's normal. I don't think it's ok. I'm really not sure where you get that idea from. But just because it's not ok, doesn't mean it's not needed right now.

So you can talk about how demoralising it is, but please don't try to make people feel bad admit trying to help people in need. That's unnecessary. You can make your point in other ways.

@3luckystars

Are they ruined though?

I love a tinned tomato, I can’t ever say they’re ruined 😂

They are very different than an actual real tomato though.

@3luckystars

They are very different than an actual real tomato though.

What are they then, if they aren't real tomatoes 😉

@FluffyBooBoo Not trying to make people feel bad. Not at all. By all means, donate. But I'd be willing to bet that 95% of the people commenting are not proactive in any way at all about the root causes of food poverty and why it's being allowed to happen in the UK that so many are relying on charity food.

I get the 'idea' that people are becoming desensitised to it and that it's somehow normal now - because literally not one other poster - in 574 posts - has even commented on the root causes and wait a minute maybe we should be trying to do something to help that as well as donating.