To donate quinoa to the food bank?

[RaisinFlapjack]

I realise there’s no way this won’t sound like the most guardian-reading middle-class question ever so I’m just going to own it.

i’m clearing out my cupboards before Xmas and I have a fair amount of in-date jars tins and packets which are taking up space.

Ibwas thinking of bagging it up for the food bank but while I’ve got some staples like tinned tomatoes and rice pudding which are more typically on the food-bank wish lists, some of it more along the lines of rocket pesto and polenta.

Is getting random bits like that at all useful for food banks or does it create a bit of headache or at worst get thrown out?

Don't overthink it. Someone I'm sure will use it. But there is a reason why foodbanks have wish lists. They know what the users want most and what will be the most beneficial.

I've volunteered for a while with our local community bank and it's definitely tinned and easy reheat food that's popular. Tinned tuna and meat. Soups. Puddings. Tinned fruit. And staples like ketchup, oil, tea bags.

Most people? I don’t know what circles you move in but they really don’t!

Donate it. They be someone who be grateful. Was speaking to food bank co ordinator last week and he said baked beans and pasta most donated items. He said there have too much baked beans and they needed toothpaste and toothbrushes most which is something I never thought of. Every foodbank collection point always has a list of items they low on which I never knew or saw. However please donate as it will be used!

And theres the problem right there, even po faced people that think they know what they're talking about lecuturing everyone else is getting it muddled with other grains and similar

Best post is up above asking OP to think about why its still in her cupboard unopened and unused

And to the poster saying 'food is food and just donate it' well no. As another poster said some things are neither use nor ornament to the majority otherwise there would be a cry for tins of caviar. You cant feed a hungry family on that

You can chuck qinoa in anything, soups, stews, salads, porridge to add protein. It's great. And a very basic foodstuff like rice in some countries. Of course someone will use it.

Foods that can be cooked in a pan in a stove or in the microwave are good for donation. Foods that take lots of (paid for) energy or specialist equipment to cook are less appropriate
Just because people are using a food bank doesn’t mean they don’t like a variety of flavours.

I volunteer for a foodbank. It wouldn't get put in a standard pack but be left on a table to pick if someone wanted it. A lot of people we see have quite conservative tastes and some don't even want rice or pasta - we can swap it for instant mash. Many of them have no cooking facilities other than a kettle, some not even that. Some have no teeth and their bags have to take that into account. We don't seem to get the cultured middle classes down on their luck that some posters envisage.

To answer the question I wouldn't donate quinoa but it won't get thrown away.

I agree they probably won't be able to put it in a food parcel.

But I think generally having stuff for the "other" shelf wouldn't be a bad thing - it's nice for people to have a choice and if they spot something they'd like that they can't otherwise get then that is great.

Gosh, donate. I always think I wouldn't like the stuff food banks and school ask for for harvest festival. Tinned meat/fish/curry. I've never bought it and it's never been on my radar. Quinoa, pesto are normal weekday staples and easy so would much rather have that.

I had to use food banks for a good few years after a bad relationship. I was desperate for rice, lentils, vegetables, chickpeas, quinoa, fruit and juice.

I would get instant mash, fray bentos pies, meatballs in a can, squash, tinned veg and teabags. Dear God, so many teabags! I was grateful for it of course and it got us through but desperately wanted real 'food' if that makes sense.

Not all of the people that use food banks will be british, so things like lentils and quinoa will be considered staples rather than naice foods.

This is my experience also. I guess service user demographics must really vary if people think quinoa would be welcome at their food bank. Half our clientele wont even touch rice unless it's boil in the bag.

Edited to add: I meant to quote CaptainMy Captain's post

Tabouleh is a great use of quinoa. Basically salad and grains , cheap and nutritious .

Donate it! It will make someone who usually eats healthy wholefoods very happy. There will be a 'random interesting things' shelf, or staff will have an idea of which clients would welcome it in their parcel.

Hi OP, I run our district's food bank so have a bit of insight into this question.

Do give it and they will decide what to do with it. If your food bank is one which people visit to collect their food (which most are) it will most likely be placed on a "help yourself" table/area where clients can top their parcels up with donated items that don't fit the standard parcel contents. So in all likelihood it will get taken. If not, then the volunteers can take care it home - which is surely better than it sitting in the back of your cupboard.

We deliver the vast majority of our parcels as we're a very rural district. We do include pulses in our parcels and actually include suggestions and recipes of how they (and other staple items in our parcels) can be used (e.g. throwing lentils in a bolognese). Of course, some of our clients will be more than aware of how to use pulses, but the majority of the feedback we've received in the past is that people don't know how to use them or believe that it's really complicated to cook with them.

Ask the folks who run it?
They'll be able to say if it's useful.

Donate it........it might not be to everyone's liking but the alternative of throwing it in the bin is just sinful!

Our local food bank offers their 'visitors' a bag of stapes then invites them to choose so many items from the racks of 'specials'. Your donations would if received there probably end up on the specials rack

If you were worried that someone who doesn't know why to do with it might receive it instead of something they might be more familiar with, be reassured that The food banks have that possibility covered.

Someone will be glad if something less usual.

Well I consider myself fairly middle class and a pretty good cook. I wouldn't want quinoa though...I tried in a pre made salad...and it was fine but certainly not nice enough to make me want to learn how to cook it.

Having said that, I think you should donate it. We all have different tastes

Fwiw, I don't consider it too posh...I just think it's a bit niche...vast majority of people in the UK don't eat quinoa regularly

Perfectly reasonable question from the OP.
Obviously the demographic of food bank users will vary around the country. Maybe more call for quinoa in Bristol or Brighton than the small rural town where I live?
And interesting to learn that more esoteric goods can be ‘swapped’ by volunteers.
I tend to buy the stuff they list in the supermarket. But I did donate some organic cotton tampons once.

No it isn't...

Agree, it's not a popular staple in the UK.

Another food bank manager here and I'd echo what others say:

• donate it
• it'll go on a specials shelf and depending on the local area will be picked up, or not.

We're inner London and have a number of South American service users, so would offer directly to them. Otherwise we have a fair number of English people who would absolutely know what to do with quinoa.

We offer a good amount of fresh produce which is popular (people say which items they'd like) but tbh even among our very diverse cohort the most popular things are baked beans, toms, tea, sugar, pasta, rice and potatoes - and whatever treat item we have in. This week it's some very posh doughnuts.

Obviously there would be a problem if everyone donated quinoa, and no-one donated baked beans or instant mash, but that's not OP's question.

The last thing anyone needs when using a foodbank is to be forced into an unfamiliar diet. Not just in terms of yet another thing to figure out, but also the very real effects on the body and mind of suddenly switching diet.

This is just as true for those who usually cook with pulses and grains as for everyone else. Same with gluten-free or other specialist foods. Your niche or exotic is someone else's everyday, and they may need to use a food bank too.

Same with gluten-free or other specialist foods. Your niche or exotic is someone else's everyday, and they may need to use a food bank too
Clients are always asked about allergies and dietary needs and these are definitely catered for.