Comments on: Should you donate Kraft Dinner to the food bank?

By: Kat

Kat — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 14:54:46 +0000

Of course the problem with food drives for children as when parents look at it as a “less clean out the cupboards of foods we don’t want and give it to the food bank”. Which just teaches children that the poor only deserve your cast offs. The amount of expired food donated to food banks is shocking.

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 21:01:28 +0000

As a person who often has little to no money left over at the end of the month, I can honestly say that my family eats a lot of Kraft Dinner (or the store brand equivalent). We can usually get it here for around thirty to fifty cents a box. And yes, it usually makes up our entire meal. Sometimes if we can afford it we cut up hotdogs and cook with it, or if we can’t we add a can of beans to it. Not the most tasty or nutritious meal, but it is at least filling. Unfortunately I make “too much money” at $11,000 USD a year to qualify for food stamps or meal assistance where I live.
Other families I know who do receive food assistance often get boxes of donated food, or local churches will charge a small amount for a large box of food to low-income families. Kraft dinner is always there, while healthier things like fruits and veg or meats are often absent.

For those of you who can afford to donate, thank you for donating anything at all. It really helps, but remember we like to feed our families healthy foods too.

By: Uly

Uly — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 05:02:37 +0000

I don’t know whether they’re complaining or not, and I agree with your point.

I think it’s the height of arrogance, though, to be like the previous poster and ask, high-and-mighty, “what does it SAY about them if they COMPLAIN”, as though poor people should just suck it up and accept what they get.

By: Uly

Uly — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 05:01:24 +0000

Oh, and as a last comment – “Kraft Dinner” is Canada-speak for “Kraft Macaroni and Cheese”. None of their other stuff… which, out of your list, I buy exactly… none of it.

We don’t do dairy, it’s cheaper to make your own mayo (surprisingly) and salad dressing, it would be cheaper to make pizza from scratch, crackers are nutritionally devoid (and if I were starving I wouldn’t care, but since I’m not, I rather do), I try to buy fair-trade chocolate, I prefer to use leftover meats for sandwiches or else use peanut butter (store brand – fewer additives, oddly), I don’t buy “home originals” as it’s inevitably cheaper and healthier to make my own (no food coloring – that stuff is made from tar, ew), and if I want to stuff a bird I make my own with whatever I have that has to be used up.

I *prefer* to eat good, healthy food. I would have to be pretty poor indeed to make the choice to eat box food instead.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 04:59:47 +0000

I don’t think the point is that the food bank users are complaining. The point is donating unhealthy food that most of us would not eat and that people often turn to when they have absolutely nothing left is not the best thing to donate. I could not even feed it to my kid because she cannot eat food dyes. I don’t think poor people should have to feed their children food with potential poisons in them.

If you can afford to do so it is better to donated something healthier without additives.

By: Uly

Uly — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 04:56:19 +0000

“To answer your question “geez, what are y’all eating”, I may have the occaisional Kraft (or other processed food) product in my fridge/cupboard, but mostly we eat whole foods.”

Ditto. I don’t like artificial food coloring in my food, so I mostly subsist on foods from the produce aisle, dried beans, rice, meat, and eggs.

By: Uly

Uly — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 04:54:18 +0000

Also…

“if people who are getting this stuff for FREE are complaining, what does that say about them?”

Perhaps it says that they would like it if you donated money to the food bank so that the food bank could spend your money more efficiently than you could (by taking advantage of bulk deals) to buy healthier food that they KNOW their recipients will appreciate. Perhaps it says that they are human beings, and have food preferences like everybody else. It’s snobby to suggest that poor people are allowed to dislike food?

“I give to Food Banks and I hope like heck no one has ever complained about the stuff I have put in there….”

I know people who have taken what they got from the local pantry, walked around and donate it right back. They absolutely couldn’t use it, and wouldn’t eat it.

By: Uly

Uly — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 04:51:34 +0000

“One person even said it is “end of the month food” meaning, I gather, the food when the money has run out.”

Somebody making a statement that implies s/he is POOR (rich people don’t run so far out of money that they can only eat mac ‘n cheese) in a conversation about helping poor people, that makes them a snob?

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 20:34:16 +0000

Thanks for this thought-provoking post, Annie! Although it’s a year old, it’s still as relevant this December as it was last December.

I’ve been reflecting on this topic for the past few weeks…brainstorming ideas and wondering what the most sustainable approach is for ensuring that the poor receive nutritious foods, education, and resources.

By: Jenn

Jenn — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 16:03:37 +0000

I live in a neighborhood with no real supermarkets. You are so right. I have a small awful market about a mile and a half away. It is not even worth the walk (or two buses) because the place smells awful and all the food offered is junk. The produce is already near rotten and would have to be cooked immediately.

There is one grocery store several miles away (unfortunately not walkable especially toting a child and groceries. It is not great either and also requires a couple buses to get to. I would not dare go there at night either. One of the guards there wears a yellow vest that has scrawled in black marker “Don’t shoot the man in the yellow vest.” A lot of lower income families in my city live without groceries nearby.

I can say from experience it is awful not being able to walk to anything but a convenience store. I usually get my groceries on the bus and that is not always easy and never convenient but it is what we have to do.

I have never used a food bank though because I can afford groceries most months. But I could not imagine being in my situation and having to go to a food bank because they are difficult to get to without a car. They should be more convenient.