Foodbank buying items from shops?

[girlfriend44]

I always thought that foodbanks were given out of date stock when I saw them collecting from shops and supermarkets.
I have now found out they buy items from certain retailers at a reduced price.
They put orders in. Where does the money come from to purchase?
Also they have vans, which cost money in petrol etc.
Anyone else think the same, never realised they were collecting stuff they had ordered in. I thought it was donated to them?÷

My mum works at a local supermarket, a couple of hours before closing they'll ring the food bank and tell them they have X loaves of bread etc and ask if they want them, they keep them out back until the food bank people arrive so others dont buy them but they still need to go through the till so will be reduced to 5p.

Food banks are charities and if you don’t want to donate to them you don’t have to. Nobody is expecting you to “subsidise” anything.

Anything that involves people donating items means a high proportion of what is donated is useless crap.
Sorry to say that but it is.
My husband helped with the sorting of the donations for residents of the Grenfell Tower fire - so much of it was just useless or simply just not needed. (In fact I wonder what happened to it all - it was all piled up on a football pitch somewhere I think).
This is why so many charities and organisations would actually prefer money donated so they can purchase what is ACTUALLY needed.
It's the same with the war in Ukraine. People were donating half used packets of nappies and bottles of Calpol which the local bloke with a van was going to drive to the border and hand over to.....who? They didn't know. A lot of donations got dumped in lay-bys.
The Red Cross (and others) asked for money donations. So they could go and purchase the Ukrainian equivalent of Calpol (which would have the medical information in the correct language) in bulk directly from the manufacturer or warehouse and arrange proper distribution to those who need it.
So many people think they are doing good. But frequently.....they actually aren't.

But if I buy yellow sticker out of date that day items I know I'm going to either cook them that day or put them in the freezer. it wouldn't really work efficiently for FBs to pick them up in the evening and have people collect them to cook that night. Fruit and veg maybe, but not fresh food

Absolutely right. I have been connected with food banks for many years. They do not issue stock beyond its sell/use by date.
Also it makes sense to use cash donation to buy stock which they are short of.

All I can say is when I visited a food bank most of the food, both prepared and raw, had a sell by date of that day or the next day. The advice was to freeze 'if you have a freezer'. I can't speak for all charities/food banks just my own experience.

Please have a read of my previous post, some food banks do that, but not all can. UPF is better than starving.

No, some of the food banks round here - run by churches or independent charities and described as food banks not pantries - allow people to pop in and collect food parcels no questions asked. No referral.

I totally get the point that if you are in a situation you have no idea about getting out of, then a referral to a food bank which is linked up with lots of other bodies and charities can open doors and get you linked in with other services. But there is nothing stopping anyone appearing at one of those other food banks, taking a package or helping themselves, and walking off. And doing exactly the same repeatedly in other food banks in the city operating on the same basis.

Or do CFers not exist when it comes to food banks?

I'm not too sure about this. You have to be referred by your GP or social worker to a food bank, so obviously there must be some need. There is also a time limit for how many visits you can make before needing to be referred again. I don't think people are living the life of riley whilst collecting their weekly food shop from a food bank.

https://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/benefits/social-security-benefits/food-banks-and-soup-kitchens

The link above is my local council's with a list of food banks and soup kitchens. Yes some allow you to just turn up but they are all only open limited hours / days.

The second link is to the community shops

https://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/cost-of-living-support/community-shops

From the page about community shops

It is hoped there will be a Community Shop in all wards of Wolverhampton to ensure an inclusive model for all residents. We are aware that food banks and food pantries are still functioning in Wolverhampton, but we are also aware that nationally organisations are trying to move away from this model due to the levels of dependency it has created.

The CAB, housing support workers, law centres, charity support workers, salvation army, are amongst some of the people who can give food bank vouchers. Not just social workers and GPs.

We could all spend the day googling the provision in our local area @sashh . All I am saying that it took me less than a minute to find several food banks in my city which give out free food without a referral.

That's reassuring to hear.

The burden of support is falling on the wrong people.

Successive governments are expecting us to subsidise food banks, otherwise they'd be doing more to support those in need. They're well aware of the poverty that exists.

Why do you think they have out of date food? Did you think people who can't afford to buy food should have food that might make them ill?.
Some food is donated by people who buy extra when they shop, some food is donated by supermarkets and some is bought with money that has been donated.
Many people and some businesses donate money to food banks.
I'm not sure what your AIBU is

I think OOD food is often absolutely fine tbh, depending on what it is.

Have a think about how ignorant that sounds. If someone is homeless how dare they have access to the internet and look at a website in their spare time?

Vulnerable people almost more than anyone else need access to the internet for so much of their support.

Not everyone on Mumsnet is doing so all cosy in their kitchen on a Sunday morning.

The reason why there are more food banks than ever is because people cottoned on to how the system works. Same with our country’s bloated benefits bill. Food is an emotive subject, no one want to see anybody go hungry, so people donate and keeps the whole thing going.

Not the one I volunteer at. There are rules about how many times you can go and for how long. We have reps from various agencies and charities which can go through benefits, budgeting, etc to ensure people are getting the money they are entitled to or other help (such as connecting someone to volunteers who give hospital so they are not spending all their money on bus fare - a real problem in our area and a reason a few people I have helped are short of money). Also the volunteers are local and they are pretty savvy about who is coming in - and who is claiming stuff they dont really need.

If governments were supporting those in need - as they should - you’d still be subsidising through your taxes.

You have to be referred by your GP or social worker to a food bank, so obviously there must be some need.

Not necessarily. Some food banks require a referral, others don't. I think that's why you get a problem with people going around multiple food banks.

Purely on the coeliac thing, it’s not cheap and easy having it. All the cheaper foods are bulked out with wheat, barely malt extract for taste or may contain gluten, chuck in fuel poverty too and I’m struggling to think of cheap and easy to cook food. Plus the luxury of having either separate cooking pots/pans/utensils/baking paper, ability to wash these possibly in temporary accommodation etc and it’s a real problem especially if you’ve a family to feed.

It’s an auto immune disease, not something that’s a lifestyle choice.

I don’t believe the vast majority of food bank users are thrilled at the thought of ‘free’ food and would much rather be able to buy it themselves, but needs must!

Yes I know. I am saying that you cannot just walk from one to another that doesn't need a referral and pick up a shop at everyone.

This is our issue we have a child with autism, Arfid and coeliac and our gp says this area doesn’t prescribe GF foods anymore. This was why the SW referred us and spoke to the food bank

I'm afraid some do. I've seen it. They offer meat, vegetables, bread, packed salads, from the day before.