Food bank donations

[simon the viking]

we tend to buy those pre packed bags at the supermarket for the food charity , chuck a bag in with the weekly shop

I might do that in the future, I wanted this to go to Burton Hope in the Market Place... Will check out Morrisons bags in future.. but would do this again.

Just taken it.

 

[DRM]

A word of praise to Pret a Manger. Was in our local Prets just before 9pm, closing time. Noticed a guy just sitting there, not eating or drinking. As soon as it reached 9pm, he stood up and emptied the entire contents remaining on the shelfs into a bag and off he went, presumably to a food bank.

Was that in Accrington? seems to be a thing there

 

[DRM]

What about feminine hygiene products, they seem to be ridiculously expensive & certainly a necessity, not a luxury

 

[simon the viking]

What about feminine hygiene products, they seem to be ridiculously expensive & certainly a necessity, not a luxury

Yes my wife mentioned them.....it hadn't crossed my blokey mind... She has put half towards this donation but grabbed a few hygiene things for her sister's church to distribute (they are very much a community church)

 

[Sharky]

Was that in Accrington? seems to be a thing there

It was in the Bluewater shopping centre in Kent.

 

[Slick]

I might do that in the future, I wanted this to go to Burton Hope in the Market Place... Will check out Morrisons bags in future.. but would do this again.

Just taken it.

That's the bags I get. Dead easy

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I do some bits of IT stuff for the local Foodbank so I speak to the person who runs it from time to time

She says beans are always welcome
Also - in ours case they have a list of suggested items on their website - see if your local one has this because they know how their stocks are and what local people want

But basic dried stuff and tinned stuff is always good
plus things like long life milk

this is the current suggested items for our local one

• Sponge Pudding
• Tinned Meat
• Cereal
• UHT Milk
• Rice
• Tea and Coffee
• Tinned Beans

 

[Mike Ayling]

What should I buy, basics or luxuries ie pasta, tinned veg, soups? Or luxuries....(decent) coffee, chocolate and biscuits?

Provide meals or help with things that might beyond budget

Thoughts please

Our St Vincent de Paul Conference pantry contains breakfast cereal, long life milk, instant coffee of various qualities, dry pasta, rice, pasta sauce. Baked beans, tinned spaghetti and canned vegetables of many types. People donate all kinds of sweet and chocolate biscuits to us. We supplement the dry goods food parcels with supermarket vouchers for the purchase of dairy and meat.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I suspect the reliance on tinned and UHT products in the Lewisham Foodbank's list of needed items below is chiefly because they do not have the fridge and freezer capacity. I wish there were room to have a little more of a ''(let them have) bread and roses'' approach but I fear we're well past that point. Crisis at Christmas might be a way of getting one off treats to recipients but they don't take food donations as far as I know.

• UHT MILK (SEMI SKIMMED OR FULL FAT ONLY)
• NON-DAIRY MILK
• LONG-LIFE JUICE
• CEREAL
• TINNED TOMATOES
• TINNED SWEETCORN
• TINNED PULSES
• TINNED MEAT
• HALAL TINNED MEAT
• TINNED FISH
• TINNED FRUIT
• TINNED RICE PUDDING
• BISCUITS
• RICE
• COOKING OIL
• PASTA SAUCE
• TEA BAGS
• VEGETARIAN MEALS (NON PERISHABLE)
• SHOWER GEL
• TOILET ROLLS
• SANITARY TOWELS (NOT TAMPONS)
• NAPPIES
• BABY WIPES
• WASHING UP LIQUID
• STRONG CARRIER BAGS

 

[Accy cyclist]

What should I buy, basics or luxuries ie pasta, tinned veg, soups? Or luxuries....(decent) coffee, chocolate and biscuits?

Provide meals or help with things that might beyond budget

Thoughts please

Er, where's the beer??!!! 🧐

 

[Regular.Cyclist]

A couple of years ago I spoke with the managers of three local food banks about donations and what I would be best doing. All told me the same thing.

It seems, around here anyway, they have arrangements with local large supermarkets and receive substantial discounts. They have volunteers who go shopping for them with money donated to them and as they have a stronger buying power than we do get better value.

It may not be the case everywhere so best speaking with whoever you in to donate to and see how they operate and what works best for them.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Slightly different viewpoint now

A while ago I read an article about donating to food banks
It said that the collection points in supermarkets are not as altruistic of the supermarket as people initially think

Which is obvious when you think that you actually have to buy the item from the supermarket at its full price and then put it in the box at the exit
so the supermarket gets all the normal profit from the item and gives nothing to the charity except some otherwise empty space on the way out
but get some good marketing appeal

Also - the FoodBank has to take what is given - which may not be what they need - hence the publicity of the shopping list from my lot

the other option is to donate money via the charity's website - you may have to find the overall charity ratehr than the local foodbank (ours it the Trussel Trust) but it isn't hard
If you given them money then they can buy the food directly from the cheapest source available
often the actual supermarket you might have bought stuff from - but buy what the need and in bulk - and so can get a discount

so everyone gains - except the supermarket who loose a bit of profit but probably gain cash flow and have less delivery costs and stuff

so everyone wins
obviously they like regular donations if possible so they can plan ahead - but anything is welcome - and you can happily walk past the donation bin with a clear conscience - or even a virtual halo!!!

It was a very interesting article - which I should have saved!

 

[cyberknight]

I suspect the reliance on tinned and UHT products in the Lewisham Foodbank's list of needed items below is chiefly because they do not have the fridge and freezer capacity. I wish there were room to have a little more of a ''(let them have) bread and roses'' approach but I fear we're well past that point. Crisis at Christmas might be a way of getting one off treats to recipients but they don't take food donations as far as I know.

• UHT MILK (SEMI SKIMMED OR FULL FAT ONLY)
• NON-DAIRY MILK
• LONG-LIFE JUICE
• CEREAL
• TINNED TOMATOES
• TINNED SWEETCORN
• TINNED PULSES
• TINNED MEAT
• HALAL TINNED MEAT
• TINNED FISH
• TINNED FRUIT
• TINNED RICE PUDDING
• BISCUITS
• RICE
• COOKING OIL
• PASTA SAUCE
• TEA BAGS
• VEGETARIAN MEALS (NON PERISHABLE)
• SHOWER GEL
• TOILET ROLLS
• SANITARY TOWELS (NOT TAMPONS)
• NAPPIES
• BABY WIPES
• WASHING UP LIQUID
• STRONG CARRIER BAGS

beat me to it, morrisons have a similar list , basically long life stuff they can store
https://my.morrisons.com/blog/community/what-foods-do-food-banks-need-the-most/

 

[Kingfisher101]

Slightly different viewpoint now

A while ago I read an article about donating to food banks
It said that the collection points in supermarkets are not as altruistic of the supermarket as people initially think

Which is obvious when you think that you actually have to buy the item from the supermarket at its full price and then put it in the box at the exit
so the supermarket gets all the normal profit from the item and gives nothing to the charity except some otherwise empty space on the way out
but get some good marketing appeal

Also - the FoodBank has to take what is given - which may not be what they need - hence the publicity of the shopping list from my lot

the other option is to donate money via the charity's website - you may have to find the overall charity ratehr than the local foodbank (ours it the Trussel Trust) but it isn't hard
If you given them money then they can buy the food directly from the cheapest source available
often the actual supermarket you might have bought stuff from - but buy what the need and in bulk - and so can get a discount

so everyone gains - except the supermarket who loose a bit of profit but probably gain cash flow and have less delivery costs and stuff

so everyone wins
obviously they like regular donations if possible so they can plan ahead - but anything is welcome - and you can happily walk past the donation bin with a clear conscience - or even a virtual halo!!!

It was a very interesting article - which I should have saved!

The majority of Supermarkets give food that would otherwise be binned to a variety of food projects now. They all have their own schemes.
M and S pulled out of doing this where I live because the food was finding its way back onto the supermarket shelves. Basically some people were taking it in and demanding cash. I'm not sure what they are doing at the moment to help?
I'm sure anything you put in the donation box will be used by someone.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Slightly different viewpoint now

A while ago I read an article about donating to food banks
It said that the collection points in supermarkets are not as altruistic of the supermarket as people initially think

Which is obvious when you think that you actually have to buy the item from the supermarket at its full price and then put it in the box at the exit
so the supermarket gets all the normal profit from the item and gives nothing to the charity except some otherwise empty space on the way out
but get some good marketing appeal

Also - the FoodBank has to take what is given - which may not be what they need - hence the publicity of the shopping list from my lot

the other option is to donate money via the charity's website - you may have to find the overall charity ratehr than the local foodbank (ours it the Trussel Trust) but it isn't hard
If you given them money then they can buy the food directly from the cheapest source available
often the actual supermarket you might have bought stuff from - but buy what the need and in bulk - and so can get a discount

so everyone gains - except the supermarket who loose a bit of profit but probably gain cash flow and have less delivery costs and stuff

so everyone wins
obviously they like regular donations if possible so they can plan ahead - but anything is welcome - and you can happily walk past the donation bin with a clear conscience - or even a virtual halo!!!

It was a very interesting article - which I should have saved!

I don't know how common it is but Lewisham foodbank states that if you donate via Tesco they pledge to top up the donation by 20%. Not much perhaps but every little helps. (Unlike Lidl, who just refused to make a donation to Crisis at Christmas in recognition of how far their service failed me the other week*. They sent me a £25 voucher instead which means the government gets £5 VAT, they take their margin, and the net amount comes to perhaps £18.

*accusation of theft, refusal to apologise by accuser, refusal to allow me to meet with my accuser so they can apologise to me, refusal to let me know the result of their management intervention, and such all round stonewalling that I was driven to email their CEO. And in that email I asked for a donation to C at C.