Donating to your local food bank: what goods to give
With food bank usage rising across the UK, we reveal the goods (both food and toiletries) they need the most.
Nearly one in five under 15-year olds in the UK lives in a home where the parents can’t afford to put food on the table, according to a recent research by the British Medical Journal.
So it's unsurprising that food bank usage in the UK is soaring.
In it's most recent annual analysis, The Trussell Trust, the UK's biggest network of food banks, revealed the number of supply packs it handed out had jumped 19% to a staggering 1.6 million compared to the previous year.
While they're keen to stress that all donations are welcome, we caught up with the Trust to see what type of goods are typically in shortest supply.
Whether you're in desperate need of help or want to donate supplies, use this tool to find your nearest food bank.
What to donate
Every emergency food parcel provides a minimum of three days’ worth of nutritionally balanced, non-perishable foods that have been donated by people in the local community.
The following items make up a typical food parcel, which means that they are the best items to donate:
- Cereal
- Soup
- Pasta
- Rice
- Tinned tomatoes/ pasta sauce
- Lentils, beans and pulses
- Tinned meat
- Tinned vegetables
- Tea/coffee
- Tinned fruit
- Biscuits
- UHT milk
- Fruit juice
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Food banks also accept additional items that are not on the standard packing list and these are then included in parcels as treats, said Tanya Yilmaz, spokesperson for The Trussell Trust.
Items on the list are in the highest demand, however.
“UHT milk and coffee are good examples of items that food banks often run low on, whilst baked beans and pasta tend to be the most commonly donated items.
"It’s always best to check with your local food bank about which items are most helpful if you’re thinking of making a donation,” recommends Yilmaz.
Christmas is coming
With just over two months to go before Christmas, The Trussell Trust are preparing for what is likely to be their busiest year yet.
“We’re seeing record levels of need at food banks, and this shows no signs of slowing down as we approach Christmas,” says Yilmaz.
And it’s never too soon to donate ready for the festive period.
“As demand increases, we’re urging supporters to donate as early as possible to help alleviate pressure from volunteers during its busiest time of the year.”
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It’s not just food
“It's natural that the first thing anyone thinks to donate to a food bank is food, but toiletries and hygiene products are also extremely important.
“But food banks also try to provide some essential non-food items to adults and children in crisis such as toiletries, household items, feminine products, and baby supplies,” says Yilmaz.
A list of non-food donations encouraged by the trust can be found below, and more details are available on the Trussell Trust website.
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Non-food donations
Toiletries
- Deodorant
- Toilet paper
- Shower gel
- Shaving gel
- Shampoo
- Soap
- Toothbrushes
- Toothpaste
- Hand wipes
Household items
- Laundry liquid detergent
- Laundry powder
- Washing up liquid
Feminine products
- Sanitary towels
- Tampons
Baby supplies
- Nappies
- Baby wipes
- Baby food
The future of food banks
Yilmaz says that ideally there won't be food banks in the future.
“No one should need to use a food bank at any time of the year so that’s why we’re working towards a future to end the need for food banks altogether.”
For more information on how to make a donation, read our guide to giving food to your local food bank.
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Comments
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Good informative article about how society, outside the academic semantic hot houses of politics, gets to grips with the reality of badly directed and implemented government policies. My wife and I had a young family when my career was trashed and all prospects seem to have gone. We were lucky in that our guts and determination dealt with a bad reverse. However, we recognise that there are many people who are not able to help themselves. The tax system is supposed to be a sound way of helping people in temporary or permanent misfortune through an effective benefits system ie a non patronising way. But successive governments have put money and book keeping before people and the real values of life. Employing good people to run good systems to help people out of poverty of all types seems beyond those who would rather debate than do!
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What a couple of nauseating replies! Here is some information from the Trussell Trust which, I sincerely hope will help you to realise just who those who use foodbanks are and how deeply hurtful your comments would be to them and how wrong and cruel are your assumptions. "...but there are some distinct characteristics of food bank users that are different from the general face of poverty. The most typical users are single men, lone mothers with children and single women - between them accounting for about two-thirds of all food bank users. Social isolation, the lack of a friend in need, plays a part, as well as threadbare finances. Ill health is a very common feature. Almost two-thirds of users had a health condition, half of households using food banks included someone with a disability and a third had mental health problems. Put together, it shows people living closest to the edge being the first to be pushed over. Lone adults, saddled with debts, with ill health, high levels of depression and anxiety and few qualifications to get a more secure job. These are people on the margins in many ways. But the researchers show that living on "chronic low incomes" and facing "severe food insecurity" are not necessarily the tipping points. There is often something else - an income or expenditure "shock" - that puts them on the road to the food bank. This can be a rise in rent, energy bills or the cost of food; or it could a delay in benefits or fewer working hours. On wafer-thin margins, it can be enough to literally turn out the lights and leave nothing for food."
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nicknuts. So true! It is a problem of peoples own making but it doesn't mean that we shouldn't help these people, it's not the childrens fault that their parents are inept. But whats the answer. Sterilise everyone who has ever claimed benefits? People do manage to get back on their feet sometimes and Food Banks are only an interim measure. I think you are only allowed so many food parcels / claims a year
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21 October 2019