Food bank items

meritaten

I know that the Food bank items given to my sons family during a crisis a couple of years ago were dire! mainly tins of beans, chick peas, spam (ok - its filling but not very healthy), tomato soup, veg soup and stuff like that.
the 'basics of tea, sugar, coffee and dried milk' were not in there. it was all tins! and two carrier bags of tins for a family of five? DIL called me in to help menu plan and I was hard pushed to make enough meals for five days (we had to go out and buy them the basics yet again - we had been supporting them for weeks).

could I just mention that breakfast cereals would be appreciated? Corn flakes? Rice Krispies or Weetabix?
so also would be small bags of flour and some fat in the form of a spread so that pastry could be made as some of the tins could have been made into pies.
and you dont need a fridge to keep cheese - just take it out of the plastic wrap and use greaseproof paper instead. it keeps fairly well then.

Blackpool_Saver

Female needs....... I would suggest pads as not everyone uses tampons

jazzyjustlaw

Blackpool_Saver wrote: »

Female needs....... I would suggest pads as not everyone uses tampons

I have about ten packs where I have only used a few pads. I don't want to throw them out but feel bad given out half a pack!!

Butterfly_Brain

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Tea is not a luxury, it is an essential - at least, for me.

I will not, however, under any circumstances, eat baked beans. I detest and loath them.

I loathe chick peas even the smell turns my stomach and I would give them back...yuk they are vile

Patchwork_Quilt

I would suggest just one small item that was a real treat - like chocolate. It's not essential or nutritious but it raises the spirits.

Butterfly_Brain

A few ideas could include some of the following

• Porridge Oats or Cornflakes
• Plain Flour (For making pancakes, y.puds, crumbles, pastry, biscuits and sauces)
• Sugar
• Tea bags, coffee or instant hot chocolate (for children)
• Dried Evaporated or UHT milk
• Broth mix for making soups or for bulking out tinned meats
• Stock cubes (10p a pack in Tesco or Sainsbury)
• Mixed herbs
• Gravy granules or powder
• Crispbreads ,crackers or tortillas if there is no bread
• Pasta (Spaghetti is the cheapest)
• LG rice
• Tinned meats... Ham, mince, stewed steak, corned beef, chopped ham and pork, hot dogs, goblin or FB puddings or pies etc
• Tinned fish...Tuna, mackerel, sardines
• Instant mash and or tinned potatoes
• Tinned peas, carrots, mixed veg, mushrooms, tomatoes
• Dried onions
• Dried Cheese for sprinkling on pasta or rice
• Suet or dumpling mix
• Tinned rice pudding
• Tinned peaches or mandarins etc
• Pkts instant custard or tinned custard
• Jam, marmalade, syrup, chocolate spread or peanut butter
• Buttery spread
• Eggs

carlislelass

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

A few ideas could include some of the following

• Porridge Oats or Cornflakes
• Plain Flour (For making pancakes, y.puds, crumbles, pastry, biscuits and sauces)
• Sugar
• Tea bags, coffee or instant hot chocolate (for children)
• Dried Evaporated or UHT milk
• Broth mix for making soups or for bulking out tinned meats
• Stock cubes (10p a pack in Tesco or Sainsbury)
• Mixed herbs
• Gravy granules or powder
• Crispbreads ,crackers or tortillas if there is no bread
• Pasta (Spaghetti is the cheapest)
• LG rice
• Tinned meats... Ham, mince, stewed steak, corned beef, chopped ham and pork, hot dogs, goblin or FB puddings or pies etc
• Tinned fish...Tuna, mackerel, sardines
• Instant mash and or tinned potatoes
• Tinned peas, carrots, mixed veg, mushrooms, tomatoes
• Dried onions
• Dried Cheese for sprinkling on pasta or rice
• Suet or dumpling mix
• Tinned rice pudding
• Tinned peaches or mandarins etc
• Pkts instant custard or tinned custard
• Jam, marmalade, syrup, chocolate spread or peanut butter
• Buttery spread
• Eggs

Tinned hotdogs...YUK!!!

Lleucu

Thanks everybody - what a response!! Lots of good ideas here and things to think about, had thought about cleaning materials but not toilet paper/nappies/sanitary towels. Shame we have to do it but there are so many holes now in the welfare system, there is a lot of need. See article in Guardian today.http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/oct/05/immigration-children?INTCMP=SRCH

meritaten

I am sure that as the food bank gets going you will discover whether its mainly people who are Temporarily in Crisis who are your 'customers' in which case, cleaning products may not be an issue - or whether they are more long term - in which case I would suggest a bottle of Stardrops as it is truly multipurpose.
It is a shame that in this day and age some people have to rely on foodbanks or go hungry! makes my blood boil actually, so I do admire you for going ahead and opening one! I know that there is a real need for these - and most people are extremely grateful. my son and his family were - even if most of the stuff was hard to work into a good healthy menu.

Helen2k8

Can you still get powdered egg, and does it have the same properties as real egg? I'm thinking e.g. tinned fish, and egg to bind, to make fishcakes, something to go in the recipe booklet to be a little bit different

Can you get bulk packs of dried veg and split them down into packages? I got a bucket of kibbled onion from here a year ago and have barely made a dent in it! http://www.scobiesdirect.com/VegChart.asp

I like dried produce - keeps well, much lighter than tins to carry, doesn't need electricity to store.
Might need a tip in you recipe booklet about how long to soak before use though