What to donate to foodbank at Christmas

meg72

Had a rather odd experience today at foodbank, I won a tin of Quality Street and as don't need it thought would drop it into the local foodbank as a nice treat for a family, but was very surprised and not a little dissed off to be told that donations like this are not encouraged as 1. they don't get many and not fair to only give to one and 2, (and this is what made me angry) "We don't want to encourage people to expect expensive stuff, you could have spent £5 on the basics that people do need"

Well I didn't spend £5, I won it in a 50p raffle, but I suggested OK
I will take it back and split it into some cellophane bags, "No cant do that, the sweets may have been tampered with, Jesus do I look like a serial killer? ? , just a little old girl ,too close to 70 that thought it would be nice to give a family a treat.

So didn't leave my donation, told the hard faced cow that "bet your grandmother was a workhouse manager, phoned my local Womens refuge to ask I they would like it, told Oh Yes Please, we will split it and put in cellophane bags and share it out.

So as said what to give to food bank at Christmas, baked beans or a treat.

THIRZAH

You'd think they could split it themselves if they were worried about tampering.

Allegra

I really can't see why they couldn't have split the sweets themselves ! Perhaps someone reading this helps out at a food bank and could enlighten us as to what the reason for this might be ? Also, what would happen if someone left a tin of sweets in a supermarket trolley collection point ? Would it be disposed of or something ?


Anyway, as to the question as to what to donate, my local food bank is running a "Christmas in a Box" initiative, and these are suggested items for donation:


Biscuits
Christmas pudding
Gravy granules
Fruit juce
Stuffing mix
Mince pies
Cranberry sauce/ jelly
Selection box chocolates for children
Tinned meat
Tinned potatoes
Tinned peas
Tinned carrots
Tinned sweetcorn
Brandy sauce OR custard (long life).


All items need to be in date until at least 25/12/13.

wondercollie

Our foodbanks request the pantry basics and prefer cash donations for the "treat" items.


Usually they run short of baby food and formula powders for infants.


Every bank has their rules and while the person you spoke to didn't do her job to the best of her abilities she was probably only following procedure set out by the management.


"Hard faced cow" what a lovely, festive way to describe a fellow human being.

Pitlanepiglet

I imagine the food bank lady was probably a volunteer, very few food banks pay staff.

For the animal lovers amongst us, I was talking to the lovely lady who runs our food bank and she said that they have a rule of not using food bank money to buy pet food. She recognises that for many people in crisis pets are a real lifeline but they can't justify spending food bank money in that way however if pet food is donated they will issue it as needed.

I usually give money but I'm going to give pet food in the future as well as some cash.

wondercollie

Piglet, our Humane Society runs a pet food bank and accepts donations of dry or wet food, treats, collars, leads, shampoos and used towels and bedding. They also liase with the Food Banks to make sure peoples furry companions are looked after as well.

bizzylizzy

I volunteer at a foodbank and we happily accept chocolates and all things yummy as well as 'the basics'.
We have strict rules about dates on food though, and unless each sweet was dated, we wouldn't split them into bags.

tryingtobethrifty

Meg72 - what a lovely thing to do, if I won a box of chocolates I'm not even sure I'd share them with my family :rotfl:no matter go to the trouble of going somewhere to donate them. I think in this instance that's what the woman at the foodbank forgot, that first of all you thought about them and then went to the trouble of going there. I know all the foodbanks have their different rules but it's the way you tell people them and how appreciative you are of them that makes the difference.

I'm wondering if they couldn't have just put the chocolates in the collection area and let the clients take some when they were picking up their parcel, this is what we do with fresh fruit that don't get sent out in the parcels.

So our foodbank takes all tinned food, pasta, rice, tea, coffee and biscuits.

Recently people have been handing in crackers and selection boxes and these too have been kindly accepted and handed out.

I don't agree with the idea that you can't give nice stuff in case people get used to them. It's nice to receive something like that when you're feeling down and going through a tough time.

RAS

My local food bank like human food but also really appreciates donations of toilet paper, toothpaste, soap and sanitary protection.

maman

wondercollie wrote: »

Every bank has their rules and while the person you spoke to didn't do her job to the best of her abilities she was probably only following procedure set out by the management.


"Hard faced cow" what a lovely, festive way to describe a fellow human being.

I'm sure that management procedure didn't require her to be hard-faced and unwelcoming.

I've had similar experiences in charity shops so I'm very choosy where I donate now. It's not that I expect undying gratitude but a smile and a thank you would help.

What worries me is that she could be using the same hard-faced, begrudging attitude towards clients. They probably feel uncomfortable enough using a food bank without her 'know your place' mentality.

So pleased you found a home for the sweeties OP. :Ton your persistence.

sonastin

It is quite possible that her attitude wasn't actually aimed at you. You could just as easily been on the receiving end of an explosion of frustration at the idiotic rules that the management are making her enforce. A sort of "if these well-meaning people would just learn that we have stupid rules, I wouldn't have to be the b*tch that tells them no" rant. Not the most effective way of dealing with the problem but entirely human. Or equally she might have just dealt with the most horrible gimme-gimme-gimme "client" demanding all sorts of extras and you simply bore the brunt of her reaction to the previous encounter.