What to give vegan at foodbank?

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Gintot, do you ask for donations of the cheap bags of spices you get in the World Food aisles these days? Divvied into smaller portions, these might be really useful as very cheap food can be bland and repetitive.

Cherry24

Chickpeas
Pizza bases (my vegan friend makes pizzas without cheese, just with tomato paste)
Risotto
Dried fruits
Tortillas
Tinned spaghetti
Rice noodles
Crumpets
Jam
Ritz crackers

[Deleted User]

Not sure what is provided at foodbanks but:
Pasta, oil, chilli flakes and dry herbs make a cheap but filling vegan meal
Jack Monroe had a recipe for gnocchi made with tinned potatoes
Many breads are vegan but added milk powder or vitamin D fortified may not be suitable
Tinned spaghetti is vegan as are baked beans
Lentils, coconut milk, veg stock and spices make a dahl
Fresh veg can be made into vegan friendly soups, and soups are easy to make.
Jam is vegan so jam on toast/ bread can be breakfast

culpepper

I dont know what language you need to communicate with them in but I have an excellent free app on my android phone named 'talk translator' which has quite a lot of languages on...you speak into it in your language and it translates it to another and speaks it out loud.It doesn't have indian languages but it does have lots of others.
I downloaded it to test out my spanish pronunciation but It might be useful for understanding non English speakers at the food bank.

Franalamadingdong

As well as contacting other services in your area to provide support in terms of cooking lessons it might be an idea to involve the local churches. We don't have a foodbank in out village, but we have one in town and the church has forms for referring those in need. As well as that we have a foodbank donation box, and whenever the foodbank is in need of something specific we're happy to put up a list and highlight this. The village shop has a collection box too and I'm sure would be happy to list anything particularly in need. And again those who are donating much prefer to give what was known to be most required. Communication is key.

moneyistooshorttomention

Gintotmelinda wrote: »

Hi all

Thanks for all the debate and helpful suggestions. Client is allergic to tomatoes so we have to be really careful. and there are communication problems too. Asking questions is difficult and getting replies is not easy.

Thanks for signposting to Vegan on a Budget it is useful. I am going to try to source nutritional yeast. We are all volunteers and often end up spending our own money to support a client's needs if they cannot eat the usual tins, jars and packets donated to us.


Thanks.


Gintot

Health food shops are where one buys tins of nutritional yeast.

One of the reasons I use it is because I gather it's a source of Vitamin B12. B12 is rather more difficult to get on a vegan diet - and hence I have nooch and yeast extract (eg Marmite).

Larumbelle

I am someone who has both donated to foodbanks and been a recipient of a food parcel from one. Most of us who make donations think that us ever needing to rely on one is a hypothetical situation that will 'never happen to me' - at least I did - but actually my own crisis hit only about six weeks after I had last taken my basket round and bought a fiver's worth for the very same bank that was now helping me. It feels like a lot of folk on this threat have a bit of an 'us and them' mentality. Actually, it's far from unusual for donors to end up donee at some point or another.

I think that until you are in that situation, it is impossible to 'know' how you would respond when you need that help. Personally, I felt despair and shame, even though as a donor I would never have wanted someone who received what I donated to feel that way, ever. I also immense gratitude for the people I had never met who wanted to help. It felt like there was somebody in my corner at a time when I didn't feel like there was much else going for me. When I bought stuff I always hoped that people would be pleased to have it, but I think I might have felt a little uncomfortable if I realised the level of gratitude!

Likes and dislikes don't magically go out of the window when you are in need. Yes, beggars can't be choosers, I was a little surprised to be asked my preferences, but it was a simple thing that gave me a little dignity and made me feel like a human being when I was at rock bottom. If they couldn't have accommodated my preferences, sure, I'd have gratefully accepted anything I was offered. But please don't act like it is wrong to try and treat people well. Nobody wants to rely on charity, and nobody wants to be ungrateful. It is far nicer all round if the recipient can enjoy the food given to them. As a donor I want to be able to give people the same dignity and humanity that I was treated with, I don't want to imagine them forcing down food they cannot stand just to stay alive, or being forced to sell out their moral or religious convictions before they are deemed 'worthy' of help. There are limits, of course, but the sanctimony of some of the responses here are pretty upsetting. The reference to Belsen I found utterly sickening, unless you think that people should be starved and stripped of their humanity entirely before they are worthy of assistance.

OP, as I am not vegan I can't offer particular advice, but many sikhs and hindus are vegan, and some of the temples round here run foodbanks, and several of the gurdwaras run langars (kind of like community food kitchens for those in need). It strikes me that they will probably have experience in how to help create vegan food parcels, even if there are none near you I am sure some of them will be happy to provide advice if you could call or email?

And thank you for making me think about whether I can make donations in the future that might help someone in similar need local to me.

Hollyberry

Great lists above. I'd be stocking up on some varied non-dairy milks (soy, almond, coconut), all of which are available long life and some in value ranges. To keep up the protein count, maybe tinned kidney beans and lentils for easy curry or dhal. I'd second the nutritional yeast too, and maybe tinned potatoes if the client can't eat rice.

Without wanting to enter too much of the debate about lifestyle choices, don't forget that there are a reasonable number of us who can't eat certain items due to disease and allergy. We donate gluten and dairy free to the food bank because that's what we have (not choose) to eat here, and our local food bank has clients for these items. If you need a food bank, then you'd welcome basics you can actually eat.

Hollyberry

Larumbelle wrote: »

As a donor I want to be able to give people the same dignity and humanity that I was treated with,

That says it way better than I could. Thank you for expressing it so powerfully.

LameWolf

Hollyberry wrote: »

Without wanting to enter too much of the debate about lifestyle choices, don't forget that there are a reasonable number of us who can't eat certain items due to disease and allergy.

Well said - I am vegetarian for the simple reason that my body does not consider meat or fish to be "food" and won't tolerate them.

OP I wish I could help - vegan and not eating rice is a challenge! I think someone's already mentioned it, but would the local Sikh community be able to offer any suggestions? I know if I had to feed a vegan I'd be asking Mr LW's Sikh friend for suggestions.