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.

Tinned tomatoes are super versatile and can be used to pad out dishes to street them further, I love tinned Tom’s on toasts, or with fried bread for a super treat. Mix them with a tin of mixed beans etc, takes minutes to heat.

I don’t think that you should criticise anyone for donating to a food bank

I like tinned tomatoes on toast or on ba baked potato,however don't food banks usually request items they need ?

DaphneDeloresMoorhead, I see i didn't realise it was that strict but makes sense.

Tinned tomatoes are a great base for loads of nutritious and simple soups, or pasta meals. Plus tinned food lasts for ages.

Tinned tomatoes + red lentils & seasonings make a delicious vegan bolognaise for very cheap!

Tinned tomatoes are quite versatile and can be used as a base for many foods. Many Indian foods are tomatoe based and you can use them to make the basic 'thurka' or gravy base for curries. In my experience, the banks normally asks for what they need. So it is something that is obviously in demand.

I tend to use the whole can to make a massive batch and freeze it so it's ready and chuck in the veggies/pulses after.

Or with a tin of mixed beans, sweetcorn & seasonings and you have a bean chilli! Also incredibly cheap

Tinned Tom's are one of the items on the list every single week at our local food bank.

They do not request much stuff that is completely ready made with no cooking requirement, so I assume they know what's in demand locally.

As others have suggested, it’s best to follow the lead of the food bank organisers to see what they need - often they will have posts on their website or social media with a list, or you can contact them to ask. It varies of course but tinned tomatoes will be important for some.

Also cash donations are always very welcomed as then the organisers can buy what they need directly.

My local food bank has an online list, regularly updated, of what is most wanted (varies, but UHT milk and non-dairy milks, tinned meat, tinned vegetables and tinned fruit always seem to be in it) plus a list of 'thanks to previous generosity we currently have plenty of' list ie we don't want it at the moment.

I will always include things from the most wanted list, but will also add in treat food (as well as the basic supplies, clients are allowed to take 1 or 2 items from the treat/random stuff table), surplus BOGOFs and other items (unwanted gift toiletries).

And yes I'm the person who did worse than the oysters - I donated tinned snails - it was a joke present and never going to pass the lips of anyone here, so gave it away on the off chance that someone might like it! I did include long-life part-baked baguettes that time, so someone could pretend they were having French cuisine (though I doubt they stayed together!)

gosh - surely this is massive overthinking? I donate what the food bank asks for and they often ask for tinned veg or tinned meals. I don't normally put tinned tomatoes in because I always donate tinned bolognaise/tinned meals/tinned potatoes/tinned peas (and tea!) but I cannot believe they would mind tinned tomatoes. If they don't think they are suitable they will specify this on the donation box.

They are requested, I hope they are of use. At my last employer(very big) we supported the food bank. List of items divided between teams. Competition to raise money and then to get the best value for the money in sourcing a specific thing. Tinned tomatoes were defo on that list.
I do hear you though that some would find a tomato pasta source more use!

Things like ready made tinned bolognese also tend to be horribly salty and made with utter crap. Why do we assume these service users should be willing to eat shite we wouldnt buy ourselves?

Not to mention, by having a mixed product you limit who you can give it to.

Tinned toms can be given to anyone.

A can of ready made bolognese will likely contain beef (which lots of people of South Asian heritage will not eat), or pork (which Muslims & Jewish people will not eat). Not to mention it can't be given to vegetarians.

I have been so poor that I had no fuel at all as the gas and electricity were switched off. The company fitted token meters but in the downstairs flat where we had no access to it and there was usually no money to put in it anyway. So for people in those circumstances things that can be eaten cold are a godsend. Ring pull tins as you can't even assume people have a tin opener. But then there will be people who are maybe awaiting payment, been made redundant etc and are not in as dire straits and will be able to cook from scratch. So I'd say a good variety of donations is ideal so they can be matched to people's circumstances.

@DeepaBeesKit

Things like ready made tinned bolognese also tend to be horribly salty and made with utter crap. Why do we assume these service users should be willing to eat shite we wouldnt buy ourselves?

Not to mention, by having a mixed product you limit who you can give it to.

Tinned toms can be given to anyone.

A can of ready made bolognese will likely contain beef (which lots of people of South Asian heritage will not eat), or pork (which Muslims & Jewish people will not eat). Not to mention it can't be given to vegetarians.

goodness. I used to eat it when I was struggling and it was fine. It's not utter shite actually and besides, our food bank actively asks for tinned meals and tinned meat. If you don't have a hob then you can heat it in the microwave and it doesn't involve ltos of chopping and cooking. I assume they wouldn't give it to vegetarians!

The tone deaf donators are giving mini prosecco, chocolate and pink himalayas salt as 'everyone deserves a treat' not the much requested and always used tinned toms.

Blimey. Well I think the OP may have had a fair question as to would it not be more useful to donate things nearer to the end point than a base ingredient. The answer is no, turns out tinned toms are very useful, versatile and much wanted item. I don't think OP was being presumptive at all and right to try and give the most helpful thing. Our supermarket has labels by partic products that would be very welcomed at the food donation point e.g. packet milk, pasta etc so I go by that.

Whenever we donate to our food bank I check their wanted list and bulk buy whatever they're asking for. So if you visit the food bank box after I've been there it'll look like the only thing they've been given is 100 part baked rolls or 62 packets of smash or whatever.
Ours is always asking for tinned custard which looks crap as a donation but I think the people running it are the ones who know what's needed so I try to stick to their list.

They're cheap, nutritious and can be mixed with a wide variety of other things. I would be very grateful for some tinned tomatoes. I think they'll always be popular.

Tinned bolognaise etc is vile. Just because someone's going through a rough patch doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed decent food.

@girlmom21

Tinned bolognaise etc is vile. Just because someone's going through a rough patch doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed decent food.

It wouldn't be on sale if it wasn't sold in reasonably high qualities.

Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean others won't appreciate it.

Some tinned bolognaise is fine. It is no worse than tinned soup. I'd be happy to eat either tbh!

@sashh

Tinned tomatoes can be eaten cold.

They can be a side dish like any veg.

They can be put in a pan with a tin of some other vegetable to make a simple, if not very tasty meal.

They can be put in a pan and have pasta added to make another simple meal.

They can be broken up with a potato masher to make a soup either on their own or adding other ingredients.

They can be put on toast like beans.

They are suitable for vegetarians, vegans, people of various faiths.

YABU

Excellent post

I had tinned bolognaise regularly as a student. I wouldn't now, but it was okay.

and as I have said before, my food bank actively asks for it. I am not going to be an up myself donator and put in merchant gourmet wild rice and puy lentils and smoked Maldon salt, like someone I saw last week. People do buy and eat tinned meat meals - that's why the supermarkets sell them - they aren't just being bought for food banks, lots of people actively like them.