aibu to buy instant latte for the foodbank

[painochocolate]

My DH says they'd prefer pasta and tinned goods but I like to buy three of whatever treat I'm getting for myself and put two in the foodbank. So this week it was instant latte. He thinks that's nuts. Aibu?

Absolutely- a lot of the foods I buy are the basic range, I’m a single parent and whilst I have a good job and haven’t needed foodbanks I still struggle with the cost of food. I do donate to food banks, but it’s often stuff I have in myself, if basic ranges aren’t good enough I’ll save them to feed my own kids who are happy with them!

I think that is a lovely idea
lots of people going to a foodbank are in work and wouldn’t want their colleagues to know they are hungry
I always put some pot noodles in the food bank as it is easy to take to work and gives the employed person something easy to eat at lunchtime

I remember babysitting when I was a teenager for some seriously wealthy people. Multi-million pound house. Opened the cupboard expecting good snacks.

It was all Tesco brand where tins, cereal, treats were concerned. They liked the food. Their kids did too. They had nothing to prove and other uses for their money.

I think it's seriously offensive to tell people basics labels are demeaning. It's pretty obvious lots of people buy them! Imagine the message that sends kids whose parents are putting food on the table with basic brands - awful.

@Oftenaddled you can taste the quality for a lot of products isn't as good.

Aldi and Lidl do some great ranges though.

I live in a much smaller house and my cupboards are stacked with Marks And Spencers, just about everything because I prioritise quality of food over everything else food is medicine. Those claiming the Marks And Spencers food is just package to different in a factory are frankly off their heads. I have a friend who owns a meat processing plants and there are very different processes for the different ranges and the different price points.

tesco is now stockwell instead of value
i buy stockwell brands for us and donate stockwell brands to foodbank

I think perhaps a couple of luxuries would be a nice treat - but in addition to essentials - not instead of. As others have said, the food banks usually list what the essentials are.

Yep. There are some things I buy the cheapest version of (like jam and cereals) because to me they are just as good. I would donate these. There are things I will spend more on (washing up liquid, bread, crisps) and I wouldn't donate those.

To clarify I mean I wouldn't donate the cheap version of the things I spend more on. My philosophy is if I'll eat it/use it by choice then at least some food bank users will also find it perfectly acceptable.

I don’t understand all the angst about what to buy or not buy. We are happy to accept everything provided it is unopened and in date. Last year we distributed in excess of 170 tonnes of donations via our TT branch.

Yes. We do have a ‘traffic light’ priority list which is great if people have access to it, but will find a use for absolutely everything regardless of what it is.

Thank you to everyone who donates.

I think it’s a good idea for reasons others have mentioned. Everyone likes a treat and those will make someone feel good even for a little while.

I don’t understand all the angst about what to buy or not buy. We are happy to accept everything provided it is unopened and in date.

Have you read the posts by other people who work at food banks? One throws away treat items and only gives clients things on their basic list. One says don't donate food from the basics range. Another says don't buy treats but spend the same money on as much as possible from the basics range. One says they don't split huge boxes of tea bags. And on and on.

One throws away treat items and only gives clients things on their basic list.

I missed this! If that's true, then it's appalling and wasteful.

Donate to Trussell Trust food banks to ensure that your donation is wanted and distributed.

I think it's lovely for coffee drinkers to get a treat!
It would be wasted on me though as I don't like coffee. Not sure if they have a say in what they get ...

I don't drink coffee but have lots of friends who do and need that fix to get going in am

Or have at end of a day

A latte sounds like a treat and sure many will enjoy

Re reading that - a frothy coffee is a treat. That's sad to read

But for some families they wouldn't consider it due to needing other essentials

Everyone deserves a treat/lift me up - whether coffee - chocolate - flowers - etx

I donate to food banks and try to add stuff that I would eat myself that's on their list

Tinned of fruit veg meat always wanted

Pot noodles /rice

Tampax /towels

Following people raving about Idaho potatoes on here I usually put those in and custard and sponge puddings so people can have a treat. Some of my donations are for a church group and they have regulars including older people on their own so they welcome things like instant drinks and stuff for one.

No offence to OP but instant latte is hardly foie gras or a gold plated steak... it's a tasty hot drink with some calories in it. It's a nice thing (and practical), but not a ridiculous extravagance.

I agree with previous posters that foodbank users shouldn't be reduced to eating gruel... OP is quite right to be human about it.

That said, best thing would be to check wherever you donate that they can use everything you've given, seeing as requirements seem to vary

It’s a lovely. Don’t worry. I would like to get a little treat 2 with all my essentials ur also right handy of you have got milk or kettle

If food is medicine surely you're only buying unprocessed stuff though?

Which is usually not kept in cupboards.

M&S food is nice, but still mass produced with additives etc and often ultra processed.

If you're serious about meat quality you need a specialist organic butcher.

Bought 3 deodorants today as it was on their urgent list

The process stuff the tin stuff the stuff full of additives is exactly what you should be buying the absolute best quality of possible. Because if you think about it, if I’m going to be eating crap I need to be eating the best possible crap available to me. We all the rubbish let’s not pretend we don’t.

And again, yes, of course you’re right. Organic grass fed. Meat would be there Utopía that doesn’t mean they’re arent varying levels between that and battery hens.

Whenever I'm donating, I will talk to my local fb to find out what they DON'T need, moreau that what they DO.
This is because they always have a glut of baked beans and tinned spaghetti.
Yes, it's better for them to have more of something than they need, but surely it's better for them to then say to me, we don't need X but we really are low on y.
I do find that bags of pasta and the packets of flavoured rice or pasta in sauce (just add water) seem to go down really well at my 2 local fbs.
I always try to put in some sanitary towels/tampons, baby food, shower gel, shampoo, toothbrushes and toothpaste, etc, as well as some little treats like biscuits, sweets and chocolate. They're rarely the 'best' brands, because I see it as people using the fb's are generally more desperate than picky, and my money goes a lot further by buying more basic brands, meaning more people get helped by my donations.
A branded pasta in sauce mix can be as much as £2.00, whereas an Asda basics branded pack is about 65p, so I can get 3 for the price of the branded one, and I'll bet there's very little difference between the two anyway.
And what exactly makes a £2.00 bag of branded pasta any different to the 41p basic one? Once you've put some sauce on it, it all tastes the same.
So yes, adding in a little treat occasionally, can make someone's day, but also thinking about what most people would regularly donate and going for the less obvious items can mean a bit of variety for the recipients.

I do donate basic items but on my deceased parents birthdays and at Christmas I spend the money I would have spent on their present on “treat” items that they liked. It’s an enjoyable way to remember them, practical and hopefully appreciated by the recipients.

When my grandson comes shopping with me, I explain about food banks and why some people need them, and that he's lucky that he doesn't need to.
I get him to choose 3 things, 1 needed, 1 nice and 1 new ( as in something he's not chosen before). I think it gives him a good life lesson.