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.

@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.

This!

[quote pineapplevape]@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.[/quote]
I'm with @pineapplevape - we should all be lobbying to tackle the root causes of poverty. Food banks didn't exist in most areas before the 2008 financial crash and it is disgraceful that the social safety net has been so eroded.

I don't give food to food banks. I give money so their volunteers can buy whatever it is their customers need at wholesale prices. If you all did that then food banks could buy tinned tomatoes if their customers use them, or not if they don't.

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

At risk of repeating myself, they haven't because that's not what this thread is about.

If you wanted to take it in that direction, you could. Instead you are going on about how you believe that 95% of people aren't doing what you think they should do. So instead of getting people onside, you are getting their backs up.

I really don't see how that is helping anyone.

@PlausibleSuit

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

Yes

@FluffyBooBoo I'm not setting out to get anyone's 'backs up'. That's a ridiculous statement. I'm simply trying to relay (albeit in an exasperated way) to those on the thread - why is this becoming so normalised - that on a thread like this, no-one else comments about the underlying causes of why huge numbers of people are needing food charity in the UK.

And why not - as well as donating - start to try to influence change in other ways - like making it clear to your representatives that a welfare system which relies on charity to stop people starving is perhaps not fit for purpose??!!

In my experience, people who donate food etc are also likely to volunteer are also likely to campaign are also likely to set up direct debits. So I wouldn't assume anyone's just donating food.

That said, I was really uncomfortable with the Trussell Trust and Cameron's Big Society and the normalisation of food banks when it all came on the scene - 2010? I always gave my little Tesco coin and my various donations elsewhere. I think I became desensitised by a combination of lockdown and closer exposure to people in need locally. So I don't disagree with you really, @pineapplevape But I want people local to me to have immediate help, and foodbank donations seem one way to do that.

I don't see much hope of change under current government so better to light a candle etc.

To be honest - and I know this could sound callous - I'm disturbed by the whole free school meals thing too. Why do we assume so many parents in the UK can't feed their children enough? Presumably because incomes are so low? Absolutely would be willing to subsidize this as a taxpayer, but the assumption that many kids would go hungry without free school food is really disturbing.

What's the point I wonder...tinned tomatoes cost 35p. Surely people can buy their own? I would have thought that expensive things are more use.

Christ,
If you looked in my cupboard about a third of the tins are tomatoes! We use them as a base for so much. My kids love them on pasta on their own with a bit of cheese chucked on.
Perhaps people
Are
Giving what they have spare of.

‘ Why do we assume so many parents in the UK can't feed their children enough?’

We’re not assuming anything. There are endless studies and reports to support the fact that children in the U.K. are going hungry, do rely on school meals, aren’t getting either enough food or the right nutrients or both.
Nutrition is expensive, calories are cheap.
I know it might seem hard to believe and it is DISGRACEFUL that this is the case in a country as wealthy as ours but it is fact, not assumption.

@logsonlogsoff

‘ Why do we assume so many parents in the UK can't feed their children enough?’

We’re not assuming anything. There are endless studies and reports to support the fact that children in the U.K. are going hungry, do rely on school meals, aren’t getting either enough food or the right nutrients or both.
Nutrition is expensive, calories are cheap.
I know it might seem hard to believe and it is DISGRACEFUL that this is the case in a country as wealthy as ours but it is fact, not assumption.

You're right - should have written, why is this situation accepted as the norm and built in to planning. But obviously the school dinners are needed. Food banks by same token.

There really was less food poverty in the Blair / Brown years, or does it just feel that way?

@DerbyshireMama

I saw someone on Facebook asking for details of a local food bank. Had a nosey on her profile and she was regularly posting photos of her latest acrylic nails. Aren't they at least £20 a pop? Isn't it a bit off to regularly spend that much on a complete non-essential while also claiming you can't afford to feed yourself and taking food away from people who genuinely don't have a pot to piss in?

There’s always one (I mean you, not nail-woman).

Thank you for your thoughtful and relevant contribution.

People are allowed to have changing financial needs, to post photos on social media that aren’t up-to-date, to have sudden financial crises, to fuck up. But yeah let’s all jump on the ‘poor people are just scroungers bandwagon’ shall we?

I’m guessing that one would not publicly announce one’s destitution if it did not exist. Food banks aren’t fun.

I don't give food to food banks. I give money so their volunteers can buy whatever it is their customers need at wholesale prices. If you all did that then food banks could buy tinned tomatoes if their customers use them, or not if they don't.

This. Giving a 35p Tim of tomatoes to a food bank has to be the ultimate in virtue signalling. Especially if you then also vote Tory

There really was less food poverty in the Blair / Brown years, or does it just feel that way?

Benefits were far more generous. So there should not have been the same degree of food poverty.

tinned tomatoes are a great food. Versatile, nutritious, and tasty..

I'm not setting out to get anyone's 'backs up'. That's a ridiculous statement

It's not a ridiculous statement. You have repeatedly slated 95% of people on this thread for not doing enough, with nothing to back it up.

no-one else comments about the underlying causes of why huge numbers of people are needing food charity in the UK

I don't see you doing that either. You just keep asking the question. If you want to discuss the causes, raise them. All you have done, so far, is ask why nobody is speaking about them and suggesting that they write to their MPs about it.

What is it about the current welfare system that isn't for for purpose? What potential solutions could their be? Is it just about money, or are there other possible things that could be done?

If you want people that aren't already doing something to write to their MPs, maybe give them more information?

And why not - as well as donating - start to try to influence change in other ways - like making it clear to your representatives that a welfare system which relies on charity to stop people starving is perhaps not fit for purpose??!!

And there you are again, assuming people aren't doing that, but at least this time you have added a hint of the very causes you are complaining that other people aren't speaking about.

@pineapplevape the way you keep telling us patronisingly to THINK is so annoying.

Yes, I know what needs to be done, (and you haven’t said what YOU’VE done so I doubt you’ve done anything tbh).

However, I have so many problems right now coupled with depression, if I want to donate to a food bank and not lobby the government right now, that’s what I’ll do, and you won’t make me feel guilty about it.

[quote pineapplevape]@FluffyBooBoo I'm not setting out to get anyone's 'backs up'. That's a ridiculous statement. I'm simply trying to relay (albeit in an exasperated way) to those on the thread - why is this becoming so normalised - that on a thread like this, no-one else comments about the underlying causes of why huge numbers of people are needing food charity in the UK.

And why not - as well as donating - start to try to influence change in other ways - like making it clear to your representatives that a welfare system which relies on charity to stop people starving is perhaps not fit for purpose??!![/quote]
Ah yes I'm sure the representatives will rebuild the welfare system and address the deep rooted social inequality following some letters. The best way, as always, is for people to stop voting tory, but many won't.

[quote pineapplevape]@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.[/quote]
Yes, I imagine you see things much more clearly than everybody else.

You will almost certainly be the most intelligent, best-informed and most compassionate person contributing. It’s perfectly normal and insightful to view others so negatively.

"Ah yes I'm sure the representatives will rebuild the welfare system and address the deep rooted social inequality following some letters. The best way, as always, is for people to stop voting tory, but many won't."

No, the best way to stop the need for food banks, is education.

Teach people to budget.

Probably slightly derailing away from original topic. But Labour seem to want people who are "struggling" to be eternally tied to the benefits system.

I used to donate my self, but 1 day I was driving past our local bank, and saw several people smoking, and some of them with cups of costa. oh and the odd one with booze.

How much is a packet of fags? How much is the cheapest Costa? How much for a bottle of booze?

@TheRiat
You've forgotten the huge TVs. You definitely need to mention the huge TV to win MN bingo.

"Teach people to budget" - how does that help when their Universal Credit payment is delayed, or when they are sick and their employer only pays SSSP, or when their weekly budget (which they have carefully costed out to the last penny) is thrown by their car needing a new part, and they need the car to get to work.....

Hard to budget when your income is less than your outgoings.

I had them on toast at uni. I still
Like one out of the tin!

@TheRiat

"Ah yes I'm sure the representatives will rebuild the welfare system and address the deep rooted social inequality following some letters. The best way, as always, is for people to stop voting tory, but many won't."

No, the best way to stop the need for food banks, is education.

Teach people to budget.

Probably slightly derailing away from original topic. But Labour seem to want people who are "struggling" to be eternally tied to the benefits system.

I used to donate my self, but 1 day I was driving past our local bank, and saw several people smoking, and some of them with cups of costa. oh and the odd one with booze.

How much is a packet of fags? How much is the cheapest Costa? How much for a bottle of booze?

Did you know that in my area, the average wait for a newly disabled person to get a PIP claim assessed is 3 months? Until it comes through, people have to use food banks to survive. There are all sorts of problems with benefits now that didn’t exist before universal credit was introduced.

Tinned tomatoes on toast. Good comfort food