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I always thought that foodbanks were given out of date stock when I saw them collecting from shops and supermarkets.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?÷

Where did you get this from? Do you have any sources for this?

Thankyou, I will have a look for it tomorrow when I do my shopping.

we got pesto, anchovies and olives from our "oddities" table. gave my friend (Who also often needs a food bank) the olives as a christmas present.
people don't realise what real life is like for so many people. especially if someone in the household is disabled.

May vary from food bank to food bank, but they get donations in numbers of ways, which could include (in no particular order).

People donating food directly to the foodbank
People leaving food donations in drop of points in supermarkets (and elsewhere)
People making cash donations to the foodbank
Grants or funding that they can apply for
Collections done in places such as schools, churches etc, especially at times such as harvest (eg at harvest schools may ask for a food item in exchange for a non uniform day).

If they get donations, grants or other funding they use that to buy, often in bulk the items they need the most. People donating items may not know what is needed the most, so they could end up with lots of certain products, and not enough of others.

The food given out is in date - food banks usually request items will a long date stamp on, and often date the top of the tin/carton before putting it on the shelf so things are given out in date order.

Some food banks also offer fresh items, but it will depend on how that food bank works and where it gets its supplies from.

Still a support to people, but in a different way, some work more like a community pantry where people can pick a certain number of items from different types of products - sometimes paid for at a reduced rate other times free.

There are some organisations that use things that may otherwise be disposed of by supermarkets, but sometimes they cook meals with things that they are sure can still be used.

The foodbank I support is organised by those from a local church. Some of the volunteers are also from the church, others from the local community. The food bank is given food donations, and cash donations. They order food items that are needed -from the cash donations/funding. Knowing the people involved means I can ask exactly what they need most before purchasing.

Another foodbank I know of has a few drop off points local areas (a few houses, and a church in one village a few miles away from the foodbank). They collect each week from those drop off points. They also have a shop and sell second hand furniture, both so it is more affordable to people, and to raise funds.

There is no one way that food banks get the food - it all varies.

well, I was very grateful for the food bank during ian duncan smiths reign of terror, when my husband was denied his disability benefits and we had to appeal and for about five months were down by more than the cost of our rent.
if his parents weren't in a position to support us, we'd have lost our home

Good buyers.

What is the logic that people who need help with food should be given out of date food that other people would not want to eat?

Should charity be a process of additional humiliation for people who must be in a very challenging situation in the first place to be referred for the food bank?

If I had something out of date in my fridge, and I had decided to help someone who was hungry, I would be ashamed to give them what I wouldn't eat myself. I'd rather give them the nicest food I had.

took us four months to get my husbands refused disability benefits back. it left us worse off by more than our rent, every month. fortunately, on the mandatory reconsideration, it was correctly reinstated.

"Hello hungry person, have some out of date chicken"

"What do you mean your kids got campylobacter last time?"

A lot of food banks local to me will only allow a specified number of food parcels to individuals within a certain period of time eg 6 months & then they have to wait eg 6 months before they are eligible again. This has been standard for quite some time now as some had developed a dependency on the foodbanks & instead were choosing to buy drugs and/or alcohol instead of food. In the cases of substance users (drugs/alcohol in most cases) most prefer simple uncomplicated food requiring little to no preparation eg pot noodles or pasties.

Somehow I don't think the OP will feel like people using food banks should have pets either....

I volunteered at a foodbank years ago (disappointed they are now a part of the fabric but that's another debate) and people would regularly give cash donations so off we went to the local supermarket and bought the staples/whats actually need, as food donations are not hugely consistent. Not sure why you'd even think this was an issue.....MN though, innit

the good thing is, things like biscuits and crisps ARE likely to be included in the main parcel. ours was the week before Christmas, and we had some fancy harrods chutney, mince pies, some chocolates and biscuits etc. alongside the staples.
they also asked about if we had any pets that needed feeding. but as I had rats, not cats or dogs, they didn't have any policies for that, but after discussing it with me, they gave us extra cereal and pasta.

Food banks are not allowed to collect or hand out ‘out of date’ food and are highly regulated.
Vans are paid for and run by donations and fundraising. Sometimes food such as staples especially tin tomatoes and baked beans have to bought in.
why don’t you go and volunteer at one to find out how they work and look after people in food poverty in this country?

Exactly, I don't get how people are so clueless, do some people just not concern themselves with anything about other people to the point where they think homeless people are all old men from the 1890s, living under bridges feeding from the bins and tying their trousers up with string. Some people really have their heads up their bums.

I don't know. I recall a celebrity interview once where the person self righteously criticized people who had fallen on hard times, as this person stated that she had had times where she wasn't working and she had to sell some of her jewelry collection for money to pay her bills. She didn't understand why poor people didn't just do that.

People donate money to foodbanks.
People who use them have allergies/intolerances and can't just have the standard stuff.
Our local buys things like dairy-free subs, eggs, and occasional treats.
Fortunately I'm in a relatively affluent area (in the main) and people are happy to help out with donations, time and organisation. Lots of shops donate end of day produce with short dates.

It's not just bread that's necessary to avoid - it's pasta (a very common foodbank item because of it being a cheap source of calories), noodles, most cereals, pulses, grains and other foods that aren't long shelf life either contain or are likely to be contaminated by gluten during manufacture. If I were dependent upon a foodbank for whatever reason, I'd have to ask for things labelled gluten free rather than risk being made ill.

It's bad enough for somebody being poor, we don't have to say 'well, you can live upon boiled potatoes three times a day, starve, be in excruciating pain or have us contribute towards your eventual death from cancer, then' as punishment.

Best before & use by are different things

Whatever the point of this thread was, it’s prompted me order some of the things from my local foodbank’s Amazon wish list, so thanks for that, OP!

I think the op was hoping for a pile on the 'greedy / lazy ' sods that use the food banks .
But the opposite has happened, its raised awareness, proved links to how to and who to donate to .
So thank you @girlfriend44

i stopped donating to food banks when I read a thread on here about families accessing food banks for 2+ years continuously, and then learned this was a regular thing. And ‘shopping’ at the food bank.

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.

Ocado has managed it. You can now add £2.50, £5 or £10 donations for food bank to your online shopping trolley and they match it, then convert to groceries for distribution to food banks. Well done Ocado.

I used to donate regularly but have stopped as I instead donate to developing countries now.

Count yourself lucky that you can’t imagine being unable to afford food. Sadly, many people struggle to afford the absolute basics (food, shelter, healthcare). I’m not in the UK, but none of these are completely free in my country. Then you add things like education (also not free, but mandatory) for kids and it doesn’t take long to see how people struggle.

Charities continue to provide and advocate for those who are struggling. Including providing food.

It’s nice to be able to think that this is just something people deal with for a week or two, but poverty is more pervasive than that. No amount of budgeting and tightening the belt can get you around an income that is below what you need to manage. Food banks make a difference for people week in week out. Including for people with medical food restrictions.