to ask what will happen to people who rely on food banks?

[EmmaGrundyForPM]

We have a collection box at work for our local foodbank. I do a weekly online shop and always add in £5 worth of stuff that I can pop into the donations box at work. Usually tinned stuff - macaroni cheese, corned beef, pasta etc.

I've just logged on to do next order and the shop is out of all pasta and most tinned food! So all the things that I would normally donate are unavailable.

We haven't even had orders to self isolat and already foodbank are running short of donations. Does anyone here know what will happen to all those people who rely on foodbanks?

The government says it has good supplies so I’d hope that is something they’d have considered. Not that I have much faith in the government.

YABU to not post this in the Coronavirus panic topic.

IME food banks are usually overstocked with tins (esp beans) and pasta.
Donate nappies, SanPro, biscuits, sugar, tea and coffee. They're usually in more need of those.

I don't donate beans but there is a list of what the food bank needs and they do ask for pasta and for tins of stuff like stewed beef, mac cheese and fruit.

I used to volunteer at a food bank and our warehouse has three years’ worth of pasta!

We always needed:
Tinned meat and fish
Washing up liquid
UHT milk
Tinned fruit and puddings

@DowntownAbby. no need to be rude, I forgot that there is a Coronavirus thread. I will ask MN to mov it.

I work in one! We do have some additional stock of the basic foodstuffs and a couple of local retailers have used their donations to send in a range of toiletries. It's great being part of a community charity, many businesses think of stuff we may have overlooked or have no idea how to resolve!

The larger banks, Tressell etc, have better connections to supermarkets, they will probably have come to some arrangement as part of that statement about good supply routes etc. I hope so!

But yes, we are finding our regualr donatins have fallen off... we ive in a really rura area, so that is definitely going to cause our client base issues, we are working on it! We have our past experience from the 2007 floods, SARS etc to guide our contingency plans... that and we hope that people stop panicking!

YABU to not post this in the Coronavirus panic topic. Given it is a food bank thread I think you are being a total curmudgeon! We have been impacted by the panic of others. It is good to hear that some people remember us in such weird times.

I think you're really thoughtful. Only on mumsnet do people accuse you of donating the wrong way. Post where you like. I didnt even know there was a seperate thread!

though you may not be able to give your usual donation items and even if they have asked for them any donation would surely be welcome even if it was san pro nappies etc

I would just choose something to donate that is available.

I might ring my local food bank and see what they need.

I second what @Sometimeswinning says - I wish more people were taking time to think about this.

This is what our nearest one needs

worcester.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/donate-food/

I don’t trust the government to help those in the worst situations at all. If they had helped them in the first place then we wouldn’t need food banks to start with!
I will just donate whatever is there. This week I donated baby wipes so I don’t always give food.

At least one of my local foodbanks also accepts money donations (online) and then uses it to buy any food they need the most - could that be an option? Obviously they won't be able to buy what's not available in stores but there will be something in shops they can buy.

YABU to not post this in the Coronavirus panic topic. Given it is a food bank thread I think you are being a total curmudgeon

Me too and I don't know why MNHQ is pandering to the people who can't be bothered to scroll past.

It's a Foodbank thread but it wouldn't exist if it weren't for Coronavirus so it's fair enough it goes in that topic. I think it's the biggest topic on here at the moment so loads of people will see it.

Mind you I am a curmudgeon for other reasons. The food banks don't help themselves when they are so fussy about what they take. No advent calendars, no Easter eggs, no sugar (poor people/people who've fallen on hard times aren't allowed sugar in their tea because it's bad for them - total middle class do-goodery). Although when there was a bit of a local outcry in local Facebook groups our local one (which I think is linked to Trussell) said they would take advent calendars after all. Not sure what happened about sugar.

I must confess I've not donated since the CV19 thing started but there is a collection bin in our local supermarket so I will put some items in (not sugar).

It's a food bank thread it deserves to be in a high traffic area so it is seen fucks sake 🙇‍♀️

Personally I'm checking my personal cupboard and see if I've got anything I can donate

I don't understand the angst about where things are posted.

Valid question op, I think it's a case of donating what is available. M and s has loads and loads of tinned products but obv more expensive.

No advent calendars, no Easter eggs, no sugar (poor people/people who've fallen on hard times aren't allowed sugar in their tea because it's bad for them - total middle class do-goodery). Bloody hell! Really??

Ours is about as white, middle class and do goodery as you can get. And we ask for all of those things.... not Tressell though, church and community based charity. Not sure the church ladies would take kindly to the no sugar edict. They also make cakes, once a month, for every client

I also think you are very thoughtful op, keep being you!

The Coronavirus topic is the busiest part of MN right now!

Most food banks publish lists of what they most want. Mine is always awash with pasta, rice and sanpro. They always want tinned meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, showergel, toothpaste and deodorant, washing up liquid, sauces for pasta, tea, coffee and the kind of hot chocolate you make up with just water, small packets of sugar and (unfortunately) smaller packs of loo roll

Thanks for all your replies.

I do agree that, if no other options, donate whatever is available. I'm just aware. having worked with families in need, that those who use foodbanks won't have access to the "extras" that make a random selection of food into a meal. So pasta, jar of sauce and a tin of sweetcorn makes a meal. A bag of lentils and some bisto gravy doesn't. Similarly, I donate whatever is asked for in the way of toiletries but that doesnt feed people. I'm just concerned that, yet again, the most vulnerable in our society will be shafted.

Article about this on the Guardian website www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/10/food-banks-run-out-of-milk-and-other-staples-as-shoppers-panic-buy-coronavirus

I wish people would think. The country is not going to run out of food (or toilet roll). I saw a man buying over 50 toilet rolls at the weekend. Madness.