Gluten free food and foodbanks.

[girlfriend44]

There was a piece on the news this morning about how expensive gluten free food is.

It got me thinking do foodbanks do any gluten free stuff?
I wouldn't think they get much if any donated as its expensive.

What happens if you can't afford food, need the foodbanks help, but they don't have any gluten free food?
Just thoughts.

People give cash donations as well as food and other items. That allows the foodbank staff to buy anything out of the ordinary that's needed. I would expect gf foods to be sourced this way.

Edited to add - and of course a lot of food is naturally gf anyway.

It’s much easier and cheaper to eat a gluten free diet without a whole load of even more processed gluten free bread products.
It’s incredibly unlikely that they won’t have any food, or even a majority of food that’s gluten free.

We use a fortnightly non referral charity food bank and due to our family needs (x2 GF, and multiple allergies) they actually get us some staples out of their donations rather than the stock they carry. They know we go each time so they have it ready (GF oats, GF pasta, GF biscuits, GF bread plus regular bread rice and pasta. Tinned goods. They also always have a good selection of fresh produce we just pick from what they have) once a month we can get cleaning stuff / toiletries too

Alot of normal food can be gluten free. So I'm a celiac and eat alot of natural gf food. For example I eat more potato and rice based carbs for lunch / dinner.

Gf porridge oats are not much more expensive then normal oats just grown slightly different.

Other food slike beans, lentils, meat , veg ect are all gluten free.

However I often do throw in some gf Cereal or bread in the foodbank for those who need it and regularly see stuff from the free from section in the food banks at the supermarkets.

Surely things like potatoes and rice are gluten free? I’d presume food banks would give out this sort of thing to gluten free people

Dupes of gluten-food that are gluten-free are expensive. I eat keto and fake bread, pasta, wraps are expensive. Same with gluten-free. There are a million foods that are naturally gluten-free. There are whole cuisines that are mostly gluten-friendlier. Thai, Indian etc.

The issue with a lot of food bank food is that it's processed, shelf-stable stuff. And that's very unfriendly typically.

You'd be surprised - it's easier if you can cook from scratch but realistically it's not easy for many people for many reasons. Wheat and gluten is sneaking into all sorts of foods now, including things where you wouldn't expect it. I have coeliac disease and it's horribly expensive if you want any sort of normal diet. You also have to avoid "may contains" foods because sometimes it might be okay, and sometimes it may trigger a reaction.

A small loaf of gluten free bread is about £3. Gluten free flour is about £2 a bag.

They have rice, and I'd hope some gf bread. Pulses, beans, tins of meat and fish and veg. I'd hope they're would be a fair few things. They should have chickpea flour, polenta, rice flour and almond flour but the latter especially is very expensive. So I guess they need to see how many gf clients they have and then focus on getting more of that stuff in.
The NHS used to give prescriptions for gf bread back in the day?

I go to a weekly pantry which is similar and yes, they have a table with gluten free

We are a gluten free family and I regularly donate nice gluten free stuff to the food bank (the decent GF pasta and cereals, GF biscuits).

I've been told though that they use the cash donations they get to purchase specialist stuff that's not as frequently donated.

I work in a role where I make referrals to food banks and one of the questions my local one has as part of the referral form is around special dietary requirements.

1 in 100 people have coeliac disease and gluten free food availability and price are increasing all the time as knowledge and awareness about the condition grows. It's surprisingly common for producers to opt to make something gluten free as standard these days if there is the viable option to do so.

I have family members who are lactose free and gluten free so often chuck a specialist product in the donation boxes

I am well aware of what a GF diet involves,
I have coeliac close family member lives in the home.

The cost of a GF loaf is exactly the point. You don’t actually need GF versions of naturally gluten based food. Avoiding those is actually much easier and cheaper. Planning meals around potatoes, rice and lentils rather than having to have a modified GF pasta or bread product etc.

But it’s a bit hard if you are limited on cooking facilities/ utilities or just want a sandwich

I'm GF and put GF biscuits / pasta / noodle pots in the food bank a few times a year.

Christ knows how I'd manage if I had to use a food bank. I bet they don't get much GF food.

I’m GF and sometimes just want a sandwich or eggs on toast. So yeah I have to buy GF bread which is extortionate. Or I’d like to eat the same as my family eg fajitas or spag bol so I buy GF pasta or wraps which are £££.

The majority of my diet is rice based and naturally GF but sometimes you just want some GF carbs!

I’m very lucky I don’t need to use a food bank so try and drop some bits in to the collection at Tesco from time to time.

You can get gf food on prescription if you have genuine medical need and lack the income.

We always donate GF/dairy free etc because I don't think many do. Means I can't donate as much due to cost but hopefully it helps someone

Some areas have stopped this now we can’t get it on prescription and we have 2 coeliacs in the family !

Not in a lot of areas now unfortunately!

This is a really weird take. Having bread for toast or sandwiches isn't really a wild idea.

I've been celiac since I was a child and not being able to have normal food like pasta or toast would be incredibly restrictive. It's not weird to want basic staple foods.

Said it better than me!

I think the food bank does a combination of supplying stuff that is naturally gf as well as buying extra suitable items if there isn’t sufficient on their shelves.

(in case this information helps anyway, Sainsbury’s 500g gf dried pasta is 75p has been for a while, we buy loads of the penne we all eat it as it’s the same price as the standard pasta. Only one of us is gf but it tastes the same)

At our local foodbank they use cash donations for things like this. I know someone who needed formula and the volunteer just went over to the shops to buy the specific type.

They also do macaroni.
So if anyone wanted to donate a lower cost gf item this could work.

Off topic but I didn’t think food banks were allowed to give our formula??

I generally pick up oat or almond milk when I’m getting something for the foodbank for exactly this reason.