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.

Food banks won't have al those varieties of flour, nor should they.

Ours often has brown rice flour

Perhaps one of those, but all those PP listed? Doubtful.

It's getting more expensive to eat gluten free co-op have stopped their cheaper sausages from being gluten free I preferred them to the more expensive ones because there is less meat so they are easier on a sandwich (gluten free bread dissolves so all your left with is sausages and a hint of bread) because sometimes all you want is a sausage sandwich

I donate long life GF bread rolls, GF cereal, GF biscuits. I asked the food bank if there was demand and they said yes.

I know someone who gets gf bread on prescription (18 loaves a month I think), she has an annual pre payment for her prescriptions as is on a load of meds. She doesn’t like the prescription bread but picks it up every month and donates it to the food bank. I can see why but guess it’s not very fair on the nhs, most areas have stopped the bread now. We can still get it here (but don’t).

I don’t think it’s fair that Coeliacs are sometimes told to “just not eat things like bread, cereals and pasta” because they are so much more expensive than the muggle version. I often use flour in casseroles or sauces as well as baking. These things really are part of an every day diet and they are 4/6 times more expensive than the muggle version. As a TA I cannot afford these basic necessities.
It’s not unreasonable to want to eat things like cake, biscuits etc for treats either.
It’s a medical necessity not a dietary choice. The tiniest speck of gluten (eg a crumb that was trapped on a chopping board, serving tongs that were used for a muggle cake, a crumb that fell onto my plate or a stock cube in a casserole) will make me really ill for days as it triggers a whole body autoimmune response. I need separate chopping boards, wooden spoons, butter, spreads etc.
If I am glutened I will have abdo pain so bad I can’t think of anything else, migraines, feel sick (sometimes vomit), feel faint and get pins and needles. After I recover I am then hit by a wave of depression a few weeks later. Repeated exposure to gluten will give me cancer.
It’s a big issue for me. I wish we could get gluten free food vouchers to use in a supermarket as GF prescriptions are no longer available.

This! Especially in the case of food bank users who may not be able to afford the energy cost of cooking potato or rice but could make toast or a sarnie.

I believe you can get gluten free food on prescription, too, which may be beneficial
to those who need it and do not pay for their prescriptions

I have coeliac disease, been diagnosed 15 years now. I am glad this issue is getting noticed. I have not been able to get gf food on prescription for over 10 years. I suspect if I asked my GP now they'd look at me as if I had two heads.

For someone like me who is well versed with a gluten free diet, has a decent kitchen with an oven, microwave, hob and a working fridge and money to pay energy bills, having to survive off naturally gluten free foods wouldn't be an issue.

But food bank users may not have access to these things. Rice and potatoes are usually fine as long as someone has access to a hob and kettle. The main issue is food to have "on the go". I can heat leftovers in the microwave at work for lunch but not everyone has those facilities at work. So that's when convenience foods like bread etc come in so they can make a sandwich.

You might be surprised that compliance to a gluten free diet is said to be between 40-90% however there is no real way of measuring this unless people are assessed via clinics or GP regularly. Some GP practices call in coeliac patients to be tested every year but I have not been tested since 2017 - I suspect partly because I do comply with the diet so they don't see a need to follow up.

But I can understand coeliac sufferers who do not have severe symptoms when eating gluten (unlike me) may be tempted to consume "normal" foods particularly if they are recently diagnosed, don't have many cooking skills or are struggling with the cost.

Another issue is children with coeliac disease - much more likely to be fussy eaters, teenagers in particular may rebel, parents may just want their kids to eat something and packed lunches without bread products are tricky.

I hope that food bank users who have coeliac disease are provided with some pasta / bread etc, if products themselves are not donated then bought with monetary donations. However in practise I suspect many users stick to naturally gluten free foods, go hungry, or eat normal food. The latter choice can lead to long term health issues.

Thank you I agree. I guess my info on prescriptions is outdated. My husband is coeliac and it’s hard, the bread is expensive and not very nice.

Not since gluten free was the trend before veganism/plantbased. The argument for withdrawing funding/prescriptions in the majority of areas was that gluten free alternatives were widely available and affordable.

And then vegan food with all of the fecking wheat became fashionable/profitable. Hello, £4.75 for a small loaf of bread and bye-bye, the one gluten free option at a normal price.

Only if diagnosed coeliac by blood test etc. My dc is definitely gluten intolerant and ill and in a lot of pain and vomiting if they eat gluten but coeliac tests come back negative so no prescription but they are unable to eat gluten even though they really want to.

To the PP who said "just eat naturally gluten free food!"

It's not that easy - want a sausage?

A pack of Richmond is about £1.60 but they have wheat. A gluten free sausages are about £3 so just about double.

Foods you'd expect to be safe can have wheat added - I've been caught out by ham, for example! Ditto tinned soup and even beans!

A loaf of bread is £2-3 and it's a smaller loaf. A small pack of cookies is £2-3.

Ready meals are impossible. Want a pastry? Probably £4-5, if you can find one at all. It's a shit and expensive way to eat.

A lot of food banks don't do fresh food such as potatoes and tend to have mainly tinned or dried foods. Also many people reliant on food banks have limited or no cooking facilities for example those living in hostels or b&bs so it must be especially hard for those people because if someone only has a kettle then they tend to be given things like cereal, pot noodles, things for sandwiches etc.

2 x small GF sausage rolls / Macaroni Cheese / Garlic Bread / Granola type cereal are £3- 450 each at M&S. The portion sixes are tiny, I purchase these items regularly.
@girlfriend44 excellent topic for debate thanks

And forgot about using Lidl or Aldi for a shop - they are extremely poor for GF options (yet my local Aldi has a freezer full of "plant based" items)