Is this a particularly uneducated take on food insecurity/poverty?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will admit the messaging sounds like it needs some work. However, the message is 100% accurate and it is a difficult thing to discuss with people who are the donators. As evidenced by multiple statements made above the post I’m making right now.


Yes, people who are destitute and poor, can certainly eat hamburger helper on its own, and a cake mix made with no frosting. However, people who are destitute and poor are also human beings, worthy of dignity and respect. Worthy of being able to see the joy on their child’s face, when giving a cake with candles and icing and sprinkles. Being able to really satisfy a bunch of hungry tummies with a hot meal with protein.

We have no idea if or why not someone might have or not have food stamps or WIC and why they are at the food pantry.

I’m not religious but I think I’ve heard the phrase “there but for the grace of God I go” and it may fit here

This is a very thoughtful message, PP.

OP, I wouldn’t say the message you received is uneducated, it’s unprofessional. It’s not wise for non-profits to be harsh with donors. Was it worded more eloquently than the synopsis you gave us?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will admit the messaging sounds like it needs some work. However, the message is 100% accurate and it is a difficult thing to discuss with people who are the donators. As evidenced by multiple statements made above the post I’m making right now.


Yes, people who are destitute and poor, can certainly eat hamburger helper on its own, and a cake mix made with no frosting. However, people who are destitute and poor are also human beings, worthy of dignity and respect. Worthy of being able to see the joy on their child’s face, when giving a cake with candles and icing and sprinkles. Being able to really satisfy a bunch of hungry tummies with a hot meal with protein.

We have no idea if or why not someone might have or not have food stamps or WIC and why they are at the food pantry.

I’m not religious but I think I’ve heard the phrase “there but for the grace of God I go” and it may fit here

This is a very thoughtful message, PP.

OP, I wouldn’t say the message you received is uneducated, it’s unprofessional. It’s not wise for non-profits to be harsh with donors. Was it worded more eloquently than the synopsis you gave us?

It's a very thoughtful message to say that donors are unworthy of dignity and respect? Wow.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t think you were supposed to take perishable items to food banks

This. I'm having a hard time imaginging the food bank accepting shell eggs. Maybe the next letter will be about that.

I am sure their frustration is justified - so many people use food banks to clear out their own cupboards and the result is not nice or usable. I love the idea of a kit to make a specific dish or meal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will admit the messaging sounds like it needs some work. However, the message is 100% accurate and it is a difficult thing to discuss with people who are the donators. As evidenced by multiple statements made above the post I’m making right now.


Yes, people who are destitute and poor, can certainly eat hamburger helper on its own, and a cake mix made with no frosting. However, people who are destitute and poor are also human beings, worthy of dignity and respect. Worthy of being able to see the joy on their child’s face, when giving a cake with candles and icing and sprinkles. Being able to really satisfy a bunch of hungry tummies with a hot meal with protein.

We have no idea if or why not someone might have or not have food stamps or WIC and why they are at the food pantry.

I’m not religious but I think I’ve heard the phrase “there but for the grace of God I go” and it may fit here

Well, what’s your utopian solution? You can’t offer eggs or meat. So now what?

So the kid can’t have a sweet dessert that isn’t exactly cake? I enjoyed the heck out of my cake mentioned above! Without it, my mom wasn’t spending money on treats.

The kid can’t have cheesy noodles? Or he can, just only if it says “Kraft”.

You are just as privileged as the rest and no clue what it’s like to be poor.

I am the person that you quoted. I have been poor I’m still DCUM poor and the last time I went to a food bank was under five years ago.

That is so awesome that your mom made do, and did the best with what she was given at a food bank. I’ve done the same. That doesn’t mean it can’t be better.

[Anonymous]

I agree that cake mix without frosting is not helpful.

However our food bank AFAC aims to provide protein and eggs every week. They specifically state that those items along with milk are purchased from wholesalers both to be cost effective and to maintain food safety.

Only non-perishables should be donated. I cringe thinking about how my friends and I would buy cheap food for canned food drives in high school so we could “win” the contest. I insist my kids only pick items to donate that they would eat themselves and that we normally have in our household. We specifically donate a lot of name brand cereal during the school cereal drive.

[Anonymous]

I'm a food bank volunteer and, at the risk of being rude, the people who run it are very old and/or not very smart. They have good hearts, but boy are they inefficient and I bet they would write something like that. They don't exactly have a PR department to wordsmith or a communications person to run things by.

My food bank gets a lot of random stuff, and the people who come are usually eager to take it. We ask for peanut butter and jelly, we get soy sauce and mustard. But it all gets distributed. I guess at the heart of your letter is useful info. Please keep giving. It's so appreciated by those in need.

[Anonymous]

The church where my kids went to preschool does bags for Thanksgiving and Christmas and initially they were things like cranberry sauce and boxed mash potatoes to go with a frozen turkey.

They serve a mostly LatinX immigrant population and I am glad they listened to the recipients. They changed the requested items and now each bag has rice, corn flour, canola oil, brownie mix, a few other items and $25 gift card to a local grocery store chain.

[Anonymous]

I actually received that same letter and found it useful, because I never considered those things. It was helpful for me to hear.

It made me reconsider donating goods and switch instead to occasionally donating food but mostly donating money the food bank could use to purchase fresh and frozen items.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree that cake mix without frosting is not helpful.

However our food bank AFAC aims to provide protein and eggs every week. They specifically state that those items along with milk are purchased from wholesalers both to be cost effective and to maintain food safety.

Only non-perishables should be donated. I cringe thinking about how my friends and I would buy cheap food for canned food drives in high school so we could “win” the contest. I insist my kids only pick items to donate that they would eat themselves and that we normally have in our household. We specifically donate a lot of name brand cereal during the school cereal drive.

Very good point! If the food bank had said something more along the lines of "We are so grateful to have received many boxes of cake mix! If we could get some donations of oil and tubs of frosting, along with some cash donations so we can provide eggs, we'll be able to give our clients everything they need to make a cake for their child's birthday! The children will love it!" Instead of "Your donations are useless" it would probably be much better received.

[Anonymous]

I follow a foodbank on social media who keeps an updated Amazon wish list. Several times posts they've made of them packing a food box have gone viral and resulted in every item on the list being purchased. More food banks should do the same.

I had a negative interaction with my local food bank. They were doing a 'bag-a-meal' promotion people could donate in a reusable tote bag all the items to make a Thanksgiving meal. They also asked for a $20 gift card to be donated to use to buy a turkey. A family with 3 kids was dropping off their collected bags and the volunteer was terrible towards the family because they could only afford one $20 gift card instead of 3. The volunteer snarkily said, "Well, that wasn't what we asked for, now was it? Are you sure you don't need to keep these bags for yourself?"

I stepped in and said "Hey! I can give you the $40 for the other two bags. You don't have to be rude about it." and the volunteer got snarky with me and said something about how money wouldn't fix the problem of the missing gift cards. Like, really? Really?

But anyway, yes, this food bank that I follow always says that oils and butter are the least donated items along with icing. This location gets a lot of fresh eggs from local farmers who donate daily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, it is unreasonable to assume that someone who is using a foodbank will buy oil or icing to make a birthday cake.

And, yes, the letter was unprofessional and probably counter-productive. They should have said what they needed. I would probably donate somewhere else just because a letter like that would make me concerned that the whole program was being mismanaged.

Agree 100% on both counts.

OP, I have no idea where you get the idea that if somebody doesn't have to buy hamburger helper they can afford the hamburger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will admit the messaging sounds like it needs some work. However, the message is 100% accurate and it is a difficult thing to discuss with people who are the donators. As evidenced by multiple statements made above the post I’m making right now.


Yes, people who are destitute and poor, can certainly eat hamburger helper on its own, and a cake mix made with no frosting. However, people who are destitute and poor are also human beings, worthy of dignity and respect. Worthy of being able to see the joy on their child’s face, when giving a cake with candles and icing and sprinkles. Being able to really satisfy a bunch of hungry tummies with a hot meal with protein.

We have no idea if or why not someone might have or not have food stamps or WIC and why they are at the food pantry.

I’m not religious but I think I’ve heard the phrase “there but for the grace of God I go” and it may fit here

This is a very thoughtful message, PP.

OP, I wouldn’t say the message you received is uneducated, it’s unprofessional. It’s not wise for non-profits to be harsh with donors. Was it worded more eloquently than the synopsis you gave us?

It's a very thoughtful message to say that donors are unworthy of dignity and respect? Wow.

Yes, you're the victim here. You're always the victim, even when what we're talking about is a poorly worded message from a food bank that keeps poor people from being too hungry, to better off donors who can't even thinking of why it might be hard or even impossible to simply make a trip to Dollar Tree for some icing and eggs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree that cake mix without frosting is not helpful.

However our food bank AFAC aims to provide protein and eggs every week. They specifically state that those items along with milk are purchased from wholesalers both to be cost effective and to maintain food safety.

Only non-perishables should be donated. I cringe thinking about how my friends and I would buy cheap food for canned food drives in high school so we could “win” the contest. I insist my kids only pick items to donate that they would eat themselves and that we normally have in our household. We specifically donate a lot of name brand cereal during the school cereal drive.

Very good point! If the food bank had said something more along the lines of "We are so grateful to have received many boxes of cake mix! If we could get some donations of oil and tubs of frosting, along with some cash donations so we can provide eggs, we'll be able to give our clients everything they need to make a cake for their child's birthday! The children will love it!" Instead of "Your donations are useless" it would probably be much better received.

I appreciate the point that someone made earlier about the well-meaning elderly volunteers. Yes, your wording might be better received by educated professionals who are making donations and commenting here — but the person volunteering to write the email may not have your experience and training, let alone your skills with crafting tailored communications. It’s asking a lot, perhaps, but I’d bet that at least some food banks would welcome additional volunteers — including people willing to donate a bit of time for office work and correspondence. Win-Win.

[Anonymous]

When I donate items to a food bank, it's typically mis-purchases that we didn't mean to buy (e.g., mandarin oranges in syrup instead of juice) or things we tried and didn't like. It's not a judgment about what low income people like, but a practical decision not to throw those items in the trash when they could feed someone. Maybe they're just want someone else likes. Who knows.

For planned donations, I always just give money. I can't imagine getting a letter complaining about my donation of a bag of (admittedly random) pantry items when I also give a significant cash donation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will admit the messaging sounds like it needs some work. However, the message is 100% accurate and it is a difficult thing to discuss with people who are the donators. As evidenced by multiple statements made above the post I’m making right now.


Yes, people who are destitute and poor, can certainly eat hamburger helper on its own, and a cake mix made with no frosting. However, people who are destitute and poor are also human beings, worthy of dignity and respect. Worthy of being able to see the joy on their child’s face, when giving a cake with candles and icing and sprinkles. Being able to really satisfy a bunch of hungry tummies with a hot meal with protein.

We have no idea if or why not someone might have or not have food stamps or WIC and why they are at the food pantry.

I’m not religious but I think I’ve heard the phrase “there but for the grace of God I go” and it may fit here

This is a very thoughtful message, PP.

OP, I wouldn’t say the message you received is uneducated, it’s unprofessional. It’s not wise for non-profits to be harsh with donors. Was it worded more eloquently than the synopsis you gave us?

It's a very thoughtful message to say that donors are unworthy of dignity and respect? Wow.

Yes, you're the victim here. You're always the victim, even when what we're talking about is a poorly worded message from a food bank that keeps poor people from being too hungry, to better off donors who can't even thinking of why it might be hard or even impossible to simply make a trip to Dollar Tree for some icing and eggs.

PP you just quoted here.
Lady, I'm the poster from earlier who knows of a food bank that delivers the food to the clients because they live to far out and have no access to transportation to come to town. So stop making up lies.
The problem here is with the person writing the email, not the clients.