Food bank donations

[Shazzatastic]

Just wondering what others think. I usually add a few bits to the supermarket's food bank collection (the other day I added about about two dozen items as very worried about those who are going without)

Yesterday, one of the news programs featured a food bank and interviewed a lady, but as she went to leave the food bank she had a super full trolley load of supplies. I am aware she may have six kids and it may have to last a while. But it looked excessive to me. Am I wrong in my thinking

I remember about a dozen years ago, struggling financially, what I could afford for the week wouldn't even fill a basket. At the time I tried to make it a sort of game with my daughter, let's see how cheap we can be this week (novelty to start with but does wear thin)

Also when choosing items to add to the foodbank trolley, I wonder whether to buy 2 of the smart price items instead of 1 regular item. I feel mean buying smartprice to donate but figure I can buy twice as many items and perhaps help twice as many

Just wondering what others think

People who use food banks like sugar. Trussel trust doesn't allow it mentioned on their lists.

Another one for donating what you would eat yourself.

I always look and see what my kids would eat too.

Oh yes, not just Sugar, but coffee, hot chocolate/cocoa, tea bags, long life milk, juice and squash. Also things that kids like such as breakfast cereals and packed lunch bits like crisps, chocolate bars, jelly pots, fruit in juice pots, cake bars. A lot of families use food banks and many have fussy eaters. Being poor doesn't mean your kids will eat any old thing, these days it doesn't even mean they will qualify for school meals (the threshold for FSM is really low now and many families using food banks are working more hours than would quality them for FSM but still struggling to get by).

If I put Sanpro or toilet paper in I never put budget versions.

Our local food bank puts a weekly post on the town's Facebook page with a list of what they need, and what they have plenty of. So, this week they wanted squash, savoury biscuits and tinned peas & carrots among other things. It makes donating so much easier.

How is a full trolley excessive, it has to feed the family for at least three days and provide adequate calories for those three days.

Bit odd to compare a food package to what you could buy in your basket, do you think food parcels should be tiny amounts that the recipient can just about afford?

Where I volunteer we aim for a parcel for a family of four to look like this.
1kg (minimum) pasta/rice
tinned beans/hoops x4
Tinned veg (peas, carrots and sweetcorn) x2 each
Tinned pulses x1 (usually kidney beans)
Tinned toms x4
Tinned soup x2
Tinned potatoes x2 (the large tins)
Tinned fish x4 (or one large tin of salmon)
Tinned meat x2 (or one large gammon tin)
Cereal (large)
Tinned fruit x4 (at least two different fruits)
UHT milk x2
Porridge
Seasoning set (we make these ourselves and provide instructions to make a spagboll, chili concarne and a curry)
Packet sauces
Bananas
Apples
Jam/peanut butter
Wraps
Biscuits
Tea/coffee
Toothpaste
Soap
Deodorant
Sanitary pack
Toilet roll
Laundery detergent
Washing up liquid
Childrens activity pack (colours and a colouring book etc)

Thats the basic pack that everyone gets, we then give people ‘credits’ to shop in the rest of the foodbank so we can make sure packages best meet their needs. This includes fresh fruit and veg, cleaning products, personal hygiene products, pet food etc. People can also swap items out, so if someone has access to a decent kitchen and power they can always swap out tinned veg for fresh etc, or vegetarians can change meat/fish for pulses etc.

Different foodbanks will have different wants, many will have a published list. Ours has a list, but generally cash is helpful, as otherwise you end up with hundreds of tins of beans and cartons of uht milk and not much else.

When I donate I always try to put a meal together so there is a protein, some veg and a carb. I know the food won’t go to one recipient as a meal but it makes sense in my head. Also always try to add a pudding of some sort too.

Many years ago I read that instant mash was always needed as some people don’t have access to a cooker. I always pop a pack of this in now.

Like others have said, put in what you’d buy for yourself so economy sweetcorn and Lloyd Grossman pasta sauces were in this week’s pack.

I can’t believe that in 2022 the FB is needed.

Our foodbank is on the ' bank the food' app. So I go into that when I shop and buy items from the red list and yellow list (it's a traffic light style of colour coding). Means I know I'm not cluttering up the warehouse with things they already have an abundance of.

When I donate I always try to put a meal together so there is a protein, some veg and a carb. I know the food won’t go to one recipient as a meal but it makes sense in my head. Also always try to add a pudding of some sort too.

Me too!! I suppose that's how I'm shopping for me so just do the same for the extras.

I work in a role where I issue vouchers for food banks. I am quite surprised by how many people say they really need one and then never collect their food. Guess many if these are trying their luck thinking they may get cash. One was amazed he had to collect it at all. Still always rather spend the time sorting it out for them than turn them down.

When we were doing our shopping in person, I used to fill a bag for the food bank - I put in soup (especially the hearty soups), beans, tinned fish, tea, coffee, UHT milk - the basic stuff they were asking for, and also things like sanitary towels and tampons, detergent, and some treats like biscuits or cakes.

Since the start of the pandemic, we have been doing most of our shopping online, but we donate monthly, to the Trussell Trust instead.

As a matter of principle we should always be holding charities accountable imo. That doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with the woman with the trolley (lots of explanations as many have said) but I do think as a general matter of principle we should hold charities we donate to accountable and not simply trust that everything is fine.

What?

YABU

The UK allows a family THREE vouchers for foodbank visits for any one crisis. So of course they have to get enough to get through the crisis.

FFS

I would imagine that sugar provides a quick burst of energy - maybe that is why it is needed by the food banks.

A whole lot of writing just to let everyone know that you donate to the food bank 🙄

I would buy the value versions of most tinned foods as I'm happy to buy and eat that myself. Never buy value tea bags or coffee, may as well buy dust!

Don't most people donate to them these days? What a strange comment.

I tend to buy what I am prepared to eat. I try to follow what the local food bank request, plus chuck in the nice to haves, and the items people can eat with minimal cooking if they cannot afford to run an oven etc

This, you either donate with a good intentions, free of judgement, or do not bother.

No most people do not. In case it passed you by, some people can not put food on the table for themselves, let alone buy food for other people. Strange comment.

Oh I haven't heard of this!

So what about the poster last week who said they'd had families coming ever week for 2 years?

It depends who runs the food bank. The Trussell Trust generally only issues three vouchers per family. But there are other organisations running them who will have different guidelines.

If branded is on offer then I donate that.

I think you are judging too much

I said most, not all. It's hardly virtue signalling to share what items you donate though, especially when the OP has specifically asked for people to do so.