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.

Bloody hell you sound so ungrateful. Why not try adding some information to the area where people donate. Locally the containers that we are meant to fill with food only have the food banks name on it, no information about what food stock they actually wish to receive. I would not have the first clue that tinned tomatoes were unwanted. To me they would go with the pasta and that’s surely most of a meal? Are we to assume people that use the foodbank are all in a bed sit heating their one tin of soup on the radiator? I thought ordinary families were now accessing food banks and I would assume they are living in houses with stoves and ovens? I’m obviously wrong.

surely beans on toast would be more filling, or tinned chilli or bolognese would be a little more hearty

But equally, you may well have decided to bash people who donate these items. People who felt that those who are less financially sound than others, they should be pumped full of salt and sugar with only tinned sauces to eat.

@Thecathouse

Tinned tomatoes on toast was a common lunch when I was growing up. They only need 5 minutes on the hob and a sprinkle of salt, and they get one of your five a day in

They aren't just a base. Ha e you never had tinned tomatoes on toast?

It doesn't sound very nice

@BogRollBOGOF

DM used to do tinned tomatoes on toast for tea. She liked it. I happily went hungry instead as they're too tart on their own and ruined the toast. It doesn't mean that they're not a practical ingrediant though.

The tomatoes on bruschetta / raw tomato dishes you see at posh Italian restaurants? 9 times out of ten it’s made from tinned tomatoes because that’s how Italian restaurants do it.

Perhaps you would care to share what you believe we should be donating and how those using the food bank will be cooking those items?

I adore tinned tomatoes on their own, warmed up with some salt. It is a real treat!

When DP had to use food bank he donated back all the tinned toms and chick peas plus other tinned veg eg peas and carrots as they needed too much prep which he didn’t have the money or motivation for
Beans spaghetti ravioli noodles pilchards etc were better as he only had a kettle toaster and microwave
Single adults are not allowed a cooker on our local council emergency white goods schemes
You can also choose a bed or an armchair can’t have both

But surely if they're of no use then the foodbank will say "NO TINNED TOMATOES PLEASE"? And eventually people who donate will see the sign and stop buying them. It's got bugger all to do with you, OP.

Tinned peas and tinned carrots are 21-25 p a tin in Asda. Chick peas 30-40p ( not checked recently as I am still using up the 4 for a pound ones)
One would also assume that the food bank also give some tinned veg as well.

You've clearly not lived on a very tight budget nor had to make quick food due to cost or disabilities etc. Or had to be inventive with what you've got.

I voted YANBU as people ought to check what is needed. And if a third of the tins there were tomatoes then that sounds like too much. My main bugbear is baked beans and pasta though. Our local foodbank always says they don’t need any more of those.

They usually ask for tinned meat, tinned vegetarian meals. Sometimes they surprise me with coffee and bags of sugar.

They nearly always ask for small sizes of things.

So my advice would be to check the website of your local food bank.

When I used a food bank I was jolly grateful for tinned tomatoes.

Poverty doesn't mean "inability to prepare a balanced meal, given the ingredients".

I certainly didn't start this to do anything other than query why TTs were so heavily donated as (imo) they are not what I would think would be suitable

Probably best to ask food banks why they put them on their list of required items then, if they’re unsuitable.

I also think you're making very broad assumptions about who uses food banks OP. Sadly it is not just those who only have a kettle and a room to live in.

I work in a food bank and in the last two years I've seen more and more families who only a short time ago were living well, but pay check to pay check and now, post Covid are having to resort to food banks to supplement their food shop.

They still want to do some level of cooking and ensure their families have nutritious meals.

Tinned tomatoes is by far the most popular item. Yes, we still do baked beans, spaghetti hoops, jars of pasta sauce. But tinned tomatoes can make the smallest bit of meat go further, it can be fleshed out with veg to make a pasta sauce meal for a family last two nights... it can be added to so much to make food go further and that is its beauty

We always ask for tinned tomatoes. But are mostly grateful for anything that people are able to give and I really wouldn't start dictating what can and can't be given at a food bank based on one persons observations.

Maybe tinned tomatoes are all some people can afford to donate.

Tinned tomatoes on toast are delicious. When I was younger and my dad was short of money he would buy a tray of tinned tomatoes from the cash and carry on pay day and we lived of them- it’s amazing what cheap meals you can make with them. Putting them in the microwave with a cracked egg in is a fab breakfast.

I volunteer in a food bank. TT universally popular, across age ranges and cultures. Baked beans are great, but you can only do so much with them (jacket potato but cooking one can be £, beans on toast...) whereas TTs can be used for loads of simple and not-so-simple recipes. Just because people are using food banks doesn't mean they don't like variety, don't know how to cook, or don't want to cook.

When I was a skint student I used to make up a massive cheese and tomato pasta bake at the start of the week - 750g of penne, few tins of tomatoes, grated cheese, some aubergine or mushrooms if I was feeling fancy. Then refrigerate in portions and zap in the microwave every night. Meant that I could generally get through the last month of my student loan spending £2 a week on dinners. Ok, it was boring as hell but it was a handy go to. People need to vary food bank donations and I hate the assumption that all food bank users should get are basics, but I wouldn’t be putting tinned toms at the top of the hate list.

I was skint. I have often chosen between food for me and food for the kids, or food/heating, food/shoes. I don't use food banks, because I'd rather be hungry than take begrudged charity and I have always managed to feed the kids. (The conversations I have seen on here and had in rl confirm the sense of 'better than thou', victorian philanthropy in food bank donation. I'd rather starve.)

During these periods, I definitely considered tomatoes on toast, or tomatoes on pasta a good warm meal. Yes, I'm sure there are better ones, but there's nothing wrong with it either. Indeed, I still eat tomatoes on toast.

tinned tomatoes on toast is Dh's favourite lunch. And on supermarket sliced white, not artisan sourdough. Why on earth would anyone turn their nose up at a tin of tomatoes? There are threads on here all the time about dcs who love plain tomato pasta with a bit of grated cheese.

You're assuming that everyone who uses a food bank is unable to cook for whatever reason. That's simply not the case, some of them do have access to cookers, fridges and freezers, and of course some don't. Food banks have tinned tomatoes on their list of what they want to be donated, they probably understand the needs of their clients better than you do.

I tend to try to donate things that have been requested by the food bank otherwise I donate things to make a full meal (so tinned toms along with pasta etc)

I think it’s possible sometimes to forget that just because someone is in a position to use a food bank they don’t care what they eat and things like tinned tomato’s can be a good base for a decent meal.

Yes options need to be there for those who don’t have access to cooking facilties - and the food bank wish lists will take into account the situation of those who use it - but variety in what’s available is also good

@SeasonFinale

Perhaps you would care to share what you believe we should be donating and how those using the food bank will be cooking those items?

Here are some ideas. Your local food bank may need different items

There are all sorts of different circumstances among food bank users, so some absolutely can and do cook with basic ingredients.
Yes, this. I always give a mix of things that are quite nutritious and filling while being quick and cheap to heat up on a ring or in a microwave (hearty soups, quick porridge etc) and 'basics' like cans of tomatoes and other things. People might easily have a stock of herbs/spices already, from previous food-bank shops or from when they CAN afford to use a normal food shop; or they may have access to veg, pulses etc from another source too.

And a lot of the time those of us who need food banks have a variety of ingredients at home. By that I mean we have some spices, we have oil and seasoning. We might have some other food items that are a base item but what we don’t have is the thing that pulls all those odds and ends together.

Tinned tomatoes a re that. They’re not a base for a meal they’re often a glue for it and turn some bland ingredients into a reasonably OK meal.

I think you have a misconception of people using food banks. Most are described as financially vulnerable so unexpected costs lead them to use a food bank. Things like increased rents and late benefit payments. These people shouldn’t have to live off of mug shots, tinned tomatoes are a great base and good for batch cooking.