‘We live in one of the richest economies in the world, and the Governments reliance on individual macrophilanthropy and organised charity to patch up the safety net they have deliberately decimated for a decade is an outrage and an injustice’ - Jack Monroe
Let’s fucking scream this from the rooftops.
Okay so I know that the actual best thing to give to food banks is money. Because they have access to huge deals! My mom works at a nonprofit that provides services to the community including hot meals and they can get like 70 pounds of food for $20.
But if you do give money directly to food banks, do they typically just buy essentials with it? Or do they get some treats too? Totally logical if they just focus on essentials, so maybe it’s a good idea to donate money AND some special treats? And don’t forget about pet food, y'all! Ask your food bank beforehand but my understanding is there’s always a need for pet food there!
Yes, money is absolutely one of the best things you can give! From speaking to a volunteer about money vs food she said what ever is easiest for you which I appreciated. My partner has a monthly donation set up, I on the other hand don’t have quite as much disposable income as him so I just donate food when I can.
I’m not sure what it’s like in other countries (would be great if folks added to this) but in the UK a lot of supermarkets have drop off points, my local one does so I’ll add to it when I’m shopping. Mine matches what people donate. They do it by weight though so maybe add nothing but heavy things
It’s super handy if you check what they need, mine is ran by Trussell Trust (the charity Jack mentions) and on their page they post what they need and don’t need:
When the Tories decided they weren’t going to feed children they were asking for a lot of the types of things you’d find in school lunch boxes.
I’ve never been a food bank user and don’t know the ins and outs of how it works but as well as the essentials they ask for, I try to think about what I would want if I was in that situation, so I’ve bought a lot of biscuits and peanut butter over the years
Sorry to mention that I’m vegan in this post but all the stuff I add is vegan friendly, which is hella handy as supermarket’s free from ranges are usually vegan and gluten free. You’ll have folks who are gluten or lactose intolerant, diabetic or have allergies. As mentioned from the previous poster, money might buy the essentials, whereas donations could cover these more niche expensive things.
As well as food and money, volunteer if you can! If anyone is comfortable with it I’d love to hear experiences from volunteers or food bank users. I’m writing all this stuff but I think advice from someone with actual experience rather than an onlooker like myself would be extremely insightful and probably more useful to those who want to help!
Jack has released some clothing and bags and all the proceeds are going to charity. I really want this bag to come back in stock!
Giving this version a reblog as someone reblogged the original and kinda insinuated in their tags that I was an armchair activist because I simply bolded the wrong thing while they themselves didn’t post about ways to help.
As a side note, I know not everyone knows who they are and Jack is a common masculine name but I just want to mention Jack goes by they / she pronouns!
