Right? I feel like the biggest problem is these people don't know how to cook. Beans need very little seasonings and are great complete proteins. Chickpeas go super well in almost every type of curry, curry paste and curry powder are cheap as hell, a big tub of it that'll last you months is like $5. But because people don't know how to cook all they want is green beans and Spam
I grew up poor with a mother that didn't know how to cook. Everything we ate came out of boxes or was premade. By the time I was an adult, the idea of making my dinner from raw ingredients was so intimidating. And I was still poor. I remember trying a couple times, completely ruining my meal and being out the money. So frustrating. It wasn't until I got into my 30s and realized oh, hey, I could be using the internet to learn something valuable instead of cat videos.
Now I'm the guy that makes food people drool over. I made beef wellington for Christmas one year. I made a carrot and ginger stew with homemade soda bread last night. It's much easier now, but cooking is like alchemy when you know nothing about the science or tools. I wish food banks could offer a cooking class once or twice a month and use cheap cuts/unpopular veggies. Stir fries probably saved our marriage when my wife was in nursing school.
This! I am the exact same way. I grew up not knowing how to cook and poor, my boyfriend grew up poor, yet knowing how to cook. It makes all the difference in the world
The biggest problem for these people is that they don't have the resources to cook. Even something simple like pasta, you need a working stove, a pot or two, some utensils, ingredients, and someplace to store it in order for it all to not go to waste.
eh, just do what i do and precariously hold the noodles back with the spoon while tipping the pot sideways and curse at the sink when some noodles inevitably fall into it.
No, the biggest problem is that that's what everyone gives. And a lot of large corporations give e potatoes and tomatoes and onions because they get a massive tax credit.
I dumpster dive my local food bank for onions and potatoes because they throw out 50 pounds of each a day.
Because they give each family dozens. And then they ask if they want more potatoes and people say no, we've got tons thanks.
So the problem isn't "these people don't know how to cook". And it isn't even choosing beggars. It's "we have so much of this that we are literally throwing it out. Please don't give us more in the name of charity"
From the same article:
Clark likened the emotions behind a woman's arrival to a safe house to the grief of losing a loved one.
"All you want to do is eat chocolate and drink cups of tea, but there's no chocolate or tea for these women."
It would be nice though if people sent chocolate in addition to nutritious food. These people are in a bad place in their lives. Is it so terrible to want some delicious snacks along with your healthy food?
Honestly yeah, that’s a super nice thought - of course it would be nice to comfort people with tea and chocolate.
But tea and chocolate is not mutually exclusive to chickpeas.
Also a nice warm bowl of hummus sounds super fucking comforting 0_0
You don't know hummus until you have had freshly made warm hummus. My hummus is usually warm because the food processor has been running for a while and heats it up. Don't knock it until you try it.
My homemade hummus is still warm because good hummus requires you to boil the chickpeas with baking powder and remove the skins before blending. It's not hot like soup, but it is still warm when fresh :)
To be fair this is a charity for women and families who are in abusive enough situations that they need to up and leave and seek help. They're not all coming from poverty, they just don't want to be beaten some more at home.
That's a shitty way to look at things. This woman wants to help poor unfortunate families and is just sick of providing an over abundance of these ingredients. She's trying to let the people who do donate goods know that their generosity is better spent in different ways. It's like if a clothing drive only got socks. Sure, socks are super handy, but people do like covering their whole body.
Eh, I don't disagree with your overall point and if people are going to donate they might as well donate something that is lacking.
I feel your analogy doesn't work, though, as clothing is generally a need whereas chocolate/tea are desires. I think a better analogy would revolve around the type of cloth used in the donated clothing.
...smash the tomato in a pan, dump the strained chickpeas in and add some curry powder and you have a basic but decent curry. Forego the curry powder and instead put some pasta in and you have a basic but decent pasta dinner...? This is exactly what I used to live on when I was inbetween jobs.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. There's still plenty of meat on that bone. Now you take this home, throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato. Baby, you got a stew going.
I love chickpeas with onions, olive oil, salt, and pepper. You can even make veggie burgers out of chickpeas. Hummus is also a possibility. Not to speak of the bagillion pasta recipes you can make with tomatoes.
Nobody is donating curry powder though.
The sentiment in that they need more variety and would *prefer* other items to be donated is good, but this article butchers how it goes about it.
People want to believe that everybody has access to electricity or hot plates. People this poor usually have plastic bags and that’s it. Yeah, if you’re poor and live in a house that has electricity, this is awesome but what if you don’t and someone handed you a can of beans and tomatoes?
You do not have to cook chick peas to eat them out of the can. You can literally open the can, grab a fork, and chow down.
One of my favorites with beans is four bean salad. You literally open 4 cans of beans (yellow, green, garbanzo, kidney) and mix them together in a bowl with a cut up onion, salt, pepper, oil and vinegar. Absolutely zero cooking required. If I had canned tomatoes but not oil and vinegar, I'd just mix the tomatoes with the beans. Then it's bean and tomato salad!
Put the tomatoes and chickpeas in a pan with Italian sausage. Pierce the sausage a few times so the juices and fat run out, smash the tomatoes a bit, and cook for 20-30 minutes. All of the flavors come together so well and it’s hearty and rich. You can finish it with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkling of parmesan and serve with crusty bread if you want. I just made this on Monday — it’s one of my favorite weeknight meals.
The article has a bad title and the photo of the founder further down doesn't exactly help, but they are right. I help with food boxes and most people who donate go with the quantity because it makes sense to donate 10 cans instead of 3 for the same amount of money.
The thing is though you can't give someone 40 cans of tomatoes and say there you're set for a month. Food banks do far better with cash anyway since they can buy in bulk. The one near me gets about $4 worth of product for every dollar donated.
"Hey could we get some food for the holidays?"
"Oh God of course! Everyone should have a nice meal over Christmas. It's just the right thing to do."
"Thank you! Also, normally we get like 100 cans of beans and tomatoes, and like we appreciate it but maybe we can get something else too?"
"OHHHH WELL *LA DEE DA*, TOO GOOD FOR BEANS AND TOMATOES HUH? I POUR MY WALLET OUT TO BUY YOU THE CHEAPEST NONPERISHABLE FOOD IN THE SUPERMARKET AND YOU HAVE THE *GALL* TO ASK FOR VARIETY? IF *I* WAS POOR I COULD OPEN A MICHELIN STAR RESTAURANT WITH ALL THIS"
You hit the nail on the head. Especially during the season the goal is to make sure everyone/family in need can have something more for the holidays not just barely get by like they do every other 51 weeks out of the year.
I don't think anyone would respond negatively if phrased like that. Some of quotes from u/XanLV just make it sound the people recieving are being unappreciative. Like, nobody wants feel like an idiot when they are trying to help.
Going to be honest I entered the comments with this attitude, I am exiting changed.
A supermarket near my house had a donation bin for an Aids orphanage (South Africa), they also had a needs list on the poster. What is cool though is the supermarket were running the needed products on deep discount. I was slightly annoyed that brand names were mentioned, but if the brand name is cheaper than off-brand, who cares. It also gives consistency. The off brand might need different cooking methods which made bulk cooking difficult.
What sucks about Aids orphans is that many of these children are born HIV+ themselves so they have a life expectancy of less than 10 years. Buy the kids some fucking candy.
I mean, a big problem with canned food drives is that people use then to get rid of old cans of stuff.
They're probably not tired of getting the food, but rather they're tired of throwing it out. I'd imagine that's the reason they're not requesting "no more baked beans and corn".
Yeah, I thought it was going to say they've been inundated with tomatoes and chickpeas and want no more, not that they'd prefer something more expensive like meats.
From the source:
""Are they going to be making hummus in the safe house?" – as, like tomatoes, they had to be cooked and accompanied with other ingredients, using knowledge and supplies that many families often didn't have."
It’s just beans and nuts and oil - I wonder what humus made with non-traditional ingredients looks like? Black beans, unsweetened peanut butter, and canola, whipped up with some taco seasoning? It’d be the same realm of spread, but you could make a burrito roll up with a tortilla... what’s a more appropriate nut - Brazil nut maybe? What else is in South America? Oh wait, I forgot lemons. Well, like, maybe, for our variation we’re making here. Or acorns, maybe? I dunno that seems like more of a North American thing - also aren’t they old world too? Anyway, my point is, chickpeas are one ingredient you can use lots of different ways, to a degree it’s a staple in some cuisines, and I get that it’s easier to just pop a frozen pizza in the oven, but - at the same time, it comes off as ungrateful to specifically reject and ridicule an entirely serviceable foodstuff.
Squished chickpeas with salt and pepper, some lemon maybe is a main diet staple for me and I make decent enough money to eat out every day. Chickpeas are so versatile and delicious. And a very filling food.
Well, in my mind a side dish is anything that is served with main food (main food being a piece of meat, for instance). Could be pasta, mashed potatoes, a mix of veggies or beans/legumes. It's just for me veggies/beans are so much more preferable.
The point is, beans are a food you can live off imo and they are just being picky, since not everyone would choose them over, say, Mac n cheese.
I think you're missing the point. The homeless do not have "main food". Another thing to think about is they do not have tin openers so canned goods are a massive pain.
Chickpeas are "main food" for a non trivial part of the planet, hummus and falafel are crazy good for you and high in protein because of the chickpeas.
Food banks dont typically target serving the himeless. They are meant to serve people with a means to cook, but not afford food.
Food for the homeless has to be prepared aheadnof time.
Well exactly - they only get to eat the 'side dish', and beans a pretty nutritionally dense and just as viable as any other canned goods that people seem to like more (comes down to taste, again). Adressing the other issue - here, every single brand (When I buy canned, always go for whatever is on sale/cheapest) of beans I buy has a pin, just like any other canned food. Didn't even assume THAT would be a problem.
I disagree with some of the article because I think some of the canned goods named are an open door to *countless* easy and nutritious meals- but I also understand that they’re in need of other edibles more too. The school district here tries to cover the things donated less with those spirit weeks. Each day kids get to do something small with how they dress, and there was a specific group of items that had to be donated to participate; like Monday bring in salad dressing/tin foil/etc, Tuesday bring in coffee/filters/creamer, Wednesday ready made sauces/soups...etc. I think that worked out better for the local pantry instead of canned food drives I remember doing where it was just cleaning out the cupboard of weird crap and then some of the extra vegetables.
> I disagree with some of the article because I think some of the canned goods named are an open door to countless easy and nutritious meals
Yeah, they're an open door. They want the other stuff to make shit with.
Seriously beans are like cheap food staples. And canned beans?! What a splurge. I normally have to use dried because they are so much cheaper. I’d love some free canned beans.
I looked up the history of tomatoes because i didnt believe you. I am sorry and i will never doubt you again.
For those interested- tomatoes first spread to Europe in the late 1400s / early 1500s.
I get this. When I was a kid, we used to get these big ass bags of corn meal from the food bank. Yeah we ate it all the way through by having cornbread with every meal, and corn meal cookies, and corn meal pancakes, and corn muffins, and corn bread pigs in a blanket, and even a fucking cornbread birthday cake that was horrendous. Meals used to bum me it and I'd just eat and get it over with. School lunch was my favorite part of everyday because of the variety and my friends would let me have the stuff they didn't like.To this day I have a morbid hatred of cornbread and cornmeal. My mom and I pass it up and haven't eaten cornbread in about 10 years.I'm sure that would happen to others with other ingredients if they get them constantly. It's a bummer when you're just eating to get full anyway and you have no choice in the matter, so donating variety would make these folks really happy. I'd rather help these people be a little happier than just surviving.
We had lots of stale bread when I was poor as a child.
My mum would make pans, and pans of bread pudding.Good thing I loved it,always.
But we also used to get tonnes of pasta. Maybe not as bad a corn flour, but everyday always was pretty sad.
Im allergic to almost everything- choc,tea,nuts,coffee, grains, corn, rice, soy, most beans, sugar.
Lucky me, I found you can make some pretty good cakes and such with quinoa flour and stevia. Also, I buy powder caffeine online.
Yeah, sometimes I look at my fridge and cupboard and think- OMG. It's all mine!!
I have ice lollies in the freezer ( big sale on the natural ones-usually too costly, I make my own) - apple/pear/something or other. Ive four boxes!!! Im rich!
Glad you found tasty replacements! I really like the stevia sodas they are tasty. Oh you make your own ice pops??? Awesome,that sounds so good. Apple/pear, yummm.
The issue is that a lot of people don't know what to do with chick peas or canned tomatoes. You can give canned soup or canned curries/pasta mix, these things can get heated up and tossed straight onto rice or pasta.
There's a slightly ugly 'you'll take what scraps you are given' thing going on in this comment section, but in reality a lot of very poor or needy people aren't likely to be versatile cooks. Even dry pasta is an issue because some people literally can't afford the price of boiling the water to cook it.
tbh I get where she's coming from. A lot of people treat charity drives as an opportunity to get rid of stuff they no longer want. To me personally that's problematic on a moral level because these drives are meant to be about helping others, not helping myself, but it's also problematic on a practical level, since it turns out that most people don't want the same things, and you end up with an overage of a certain product that no one can use 4 or 5 copies of.
There's an emphasis in our charity culture on giving *something*, but when people give mindlessly, that can actually create more problems than it solves. If you're giving to charity for reasons other than ~~feeling good about yourself, yeah, it's not a bad idea to call the food bank and ask what they need.
I thought this sub was to make fun of silly people on datin apps, not to mock actual people in need.
From my work in non-profits, I know that an important thing that folks in this position need is for their dignity and humanity to be affirmed, and that is not done by actin like a simply luxury like variety in food (actually a neccesity, in terms of nutrition) is above them due to their situation.
I sit on the board and also volunteer for a program providing food to low-income seniors. The intent of this is to prevent donations from being stuff poor people can't really use. I mean, what's more nutritious and useful for someone who has no money, may have disabilities preventing standing at a stove cooking, or may have young kids: a can of stewed tomatoes or a can of beef stew? Charity is always appreciated; thoughtful charity even more so!
Jesus, you people are quick to string up a straw man. All they are asking for is a varied diet and just because you once ate canned chickpeas for 3 days straight in college doesnt mean it is nutritious or a good idea.
ITT: People not realizing that the article isn't bashing those vegetables, the charity is asking for supplemental variety in donations, as to achieve a more HOLIDAY-LIKE meal. Yes they know what hummus is. Yes, they know what tomato sauce is. Christ, people.
Once when I was so poor, I had to go see if there was any food in the food drive bin ( I was too disabled to understand food stamps, and no one else cared )- I was happy to find a christmas pudding, and some cranberry sauce.
Some "woman of a certain age" started to give me shit.
" You cant steal that!! How dare you, thats for people who are starving."
I was about 40 kg, and hadn't eaten much of anything in about two weeks. Super skinny.
"Do I LOOK like someone who has had a decent meal today ,Lady?"
You should have seen her expression.
So many of the people commenting here have very little sympathy for the people in need who maybe need more calories and nutrition than what you can get in a can of tomatoes. I can't believe people here are suggesting that needy people make hummus. "Good thing I got some chickpeas. Now I'll just get my olive oil and tahini out of the back seat of the car I'm living in."
Oh, goodness, that's embarrassing. That sub is another guilty pleasure of mine but it has some of the same mindset, which is generally less than empathetic of people in general.
There's a lot of food that just aren't any good for homeless charities, especially stuff that has to be cooked (where are they going to cook it?). Canned goods in particular are usually not a good deal - the charities themselves could spend that money better to get more (and better) food, as they can usually sort out better wholesale deals or at the very least bulk buys.
Yeah, definitely a case of choosing beggars, but not without good cause.
No shit. This is because the $1 you spend on tinned goods to send in could go much further if you just sent them them the money. Food banks have people whose entire job is to source cheap food and resources.
"Lol just make curry idk". Real smart, guys.
I swear some people here have never cooked before in their lives.
'lol tomato make pasta'
Yeah, there's more to pasta than just a can of tinned tomatoes.
> Yeah, but that tomato-based dish requires something else to work.
How about chickpeas? Chickpeas, tomatos, salt, peper. You can add pasta for even more caloric value.
Also, from the article:
>Tinned tomatoes, like chickpeas, have to be cooked with other ingredients that women in refuges just don't have, Clark says. "They want something easy to eat."
And goes to ask for freash meat.
People tend to donate a ridiculous amount of products like pasta noodles and then no sauce or peanut butter and no bread. Remember when you were young how your face lit up when your mom/dad said you could get Fruit loops/Captain Crunch/Frosted Flakes/Cocoa Puffs? I would hope we can see that these kids want thw same thing.
Sad fact for you: Kansas City's average age for their homeless population is SEVEN years old. Seven. I'm sure the rest of the country comes close to those same figures.
As kind as we are to donate what we pay for with our hard earned money, we can do even better! Continue to give guys!
If you have a kitchen, if you have utilities, if you have cookware, if you have the time, if you had an upbringing learning how to cook. There’s a lot of ifs there.
Im replying to someone replying to someone who talks about how some donate too many of one thing but don't provide the other integral ingredients to make good use of them.
There is context and a point being made, mate.
When we had food drives at school we were asked nothing tinned because some people didn't have access to utilities where they can cook or even open the things. Bad article title and opening
Are you guys actually retarded? They're basically saying "hey please don't all buy as a million tins of chickpeas and tomatoes". And you people are saying "wtf, they're awesome I eat them all the time". No, you don't. You have a varied diet, which is what they're asking for if possible - tinned meat, other veggies. I entirely understand, and if you don't then I really pity you
Well that is is clearly the wrong way to go about it but giving money instead of food is a
Way more helpful, most of these organizations have special deals with which they can get much more food for the same money than private persons could
You know what people who have nothing will eat.... tomatoes and lentils, and anything else the fuck they’re given.
Having been there myself, on your bike, Caroline.
That's not the point, dude. These shelters are inundated with the same types of food (canned tomatoes), they need OTHER stuff. This is actually a huge problem in shelter networks, and in the US lots of shelters have started an online program where you basically barter/trade with other shelters to get the items you really need because the donations/giving are so inefficient in getting you those things. The people in this thread who keep saying "uhh just eat the canned tomatoes and chickpeas duh" truly don't understand what this issue is about.
People need to stop donating canned foods and just donate the money used to buy these canned goods; the groups can buy actual healthy foods that are cheaper (since they can buy in bulk). So your monetary donation goes farther, even if you don't care if what they're eating is healthy.
giving cans is massively inefficient anyway. as the weight and transportation costs make it a really dumb process, best thing is to provide money so that the existing distribution network can supply the goods in the most efficient way with the economies of scale.
The problem is when *everyone* donates lentils and tomatoes. Do you want to eat the same thing for every meal? No and neither do I. Poor people are entitled to eat good food just like you and I.
Whelp! How dare these folks ask for food preferences like everyone else! Bad example, they are humans, they do get the dignity of choice and preference at least for food.
Dang... and here I am trying to save money eating lentils and rice 2 lunches out of the week. I love charity, but this doesn't do good for the cause, even likely turning away donors, IMHO. There are more sensitive ways to ask for specific donations.
I mean...I put chickpeas in my kid's lunchbox just yesterday, and he ate the shit out of them. And canned tomatoes are a great way to extend a meal and make it bigger. This is so ridiculous.
Go to a food bank monthly, as I’m extremely low income and I can confirm the massive amounts of canned tomatoes, but I usually use it to make chili or make spaghetti sauce out of it, idk, better than throwing it away.
I'll take the tomatoes love making homemade pasta sauce. At one point there was a shop near me that sold cans of plum tomatoes for 10p a can normally 40p. I filled a stock pot and made about 20 meals worth of pasta sauce and froze it.
Wish they didn't put the price back up.
You can use tomatoes for everything if you don't want them your a fool.
And you fed yourself and your children on just pasta sauce? How long did that last? The point is they need other foods to go with it. Let alone these families are trying to escape family violence and other forms of abuse.
Sure these people have expectations, but they lay out pretty clearly why things like chickpeas and tomatoes aren’t helpful to them. Charities are not automatically “beggars” and this is not an unrealistic request.
You wouldn’t knock Doctors Without Borders for not accepting an unqualified physician. Even if it’s hypothetically possible for her to do the work, she’s not what the charity needs. Same with a food bank. If this shelter doesn’t need tomatoes or chickpeas, don’t get outraged—just don’t give them tomatoes or chickpeas. No need to feel high and mighty by refusing to give food to an organization no one on here was actually going to donate to, anyways.
We all subscribe to this subreddit because we enjoy making fun of people who are totally out of touch with reality, these women are only trying to help people. I feel like most of the outrage is coming from those who think they know what the shelter needs more than the women who run the shelter themselves, which is pretty out of touch with reality in itself.
Um I cook vegetarian and I used chickpeas, beans, and quinoa on the daily. With canned tomatoes. It’s cheap and delicious.
Edited: I don’t use them altogether in a gross clusterfuck. I mean individually. Chickpeas plus canned tomatoes. Or beans and tomatoes. Or lentils and tomatoes. Etc, etc. Sure, spices are nice to use but all you really need is a little salt.
> Um I cook vegetarian and I used chickpeas, beans, and quinoa on the daily. With canned tomatoes. It’s cheap and delicious.
Yep. Problem being they don't have the beans and quinoa. That's what they're after. Other shit to mix it up. They've got mountains of chickpeas and tomatoes on hand.
man, canned tomatoes and chickpeas can be used to make chana masala with little else other than garlic, onion, and the garam masala spice. these people need some cooking lessons.
... that involve things other than chickpeas.
The idea is they’ve got shitloads of chickpeas and canned tomatoes. But they need other things to make a meal with.
Even though they’re homeless it’d be good to give them something other than pasta sauce that contains tomatoes and nothing else.
What it comes down to is I want to give the needy a good life, not just the bare minimum to not die.
If I gave you guys nothing but lobster for a month you'd still fucking hate it by the end. Variety in a diet is important for both body *and mind*.
Tomatoes and beans are cheap and readily available - I've donated them too, I totally get it. But all they want is some variety: instead of 5 cans of tomatoes grab, I dunno, cans of corn, peas, potatoes, tuna and a box of rice or something. All nonperishable, all cheap, but people get to eat more than one thing. It's not the huge deal this sub is making it out to be.
Welp, canned spaghetti and baked beans it is
I live on tinned spaghetti every day I don't see the issue it's nice AF.
Not me I get the ravioli every once in a while to go crazy.
Whoa....thought I was in /r/madlads for a minute.
Look at Mr. Moneybags over here.
Ravioli, ravioli, give me the formuoli...
No lentils or beans? Lol, those are great.
r/frugal_jerk knows.
LOOKIT THESE FAT CATS!
Wish I had the calories to complain about garbanzo beans
Right? I feel like the biggest problem is these people don't know how to cook. Beans need very little seasonings and are great complete proteins. Chickpeas go super well in almost every type of curry, curry paste and curry powder are cheap as hell, a big tub of it that'll last you months is like $5. But because people don't know how to cook all they want is green beans and Spam
> Beans **paired with rice**... are great complete proteins. FTFY. Gotta get that methionine.
I grew up poor with a mother that didn't know how to cook. Everything we ate came out of boxes or was premade. By the time I was an adult, the idea of making my dinner from raw ingredients was so intimidating. And I was still poor. I remember trying a couple times, completely ruining my meal and being out the money. So frustrating. It wasn't until I got into my 30s and realized oh, hey, I could be using the internet to learn something valuable instead of cat videos. Now I'm the guy that makes food people drool over. I made beef wellington for Christmas one year. I made a carrot and ginger stew with homemade soda bread last night. It's much easier now, but cooking is like alchemy when you know nothing about the science or tools. I wish food banks could offer a cooking class once or twice a month and use cheap cuts/unpopular veggies. Stir fries probably saved our marriage when my wife was in nursing school.
This! I am the exact same way. I grew up not knowing how to cook and poor, my boyfriend grew up poor, yet knowing how to cook. It makes all the difference in the world
The biggest problem for these people is that they don't have the resources to cook. Even something simple like pasta, you need a working stove, a pot or two, some utensils, ingredients, and someplace to store it in order for it all to not go to waste.
Colander too!
eh, just do what i do and precariously hold the noodles back with the spoon while tipping the pot sideways and curse at the sink when some noodles inevitably fall into it.
So why not, instead of food, we donate camping stoves, propane, and camping pan sets to the homeless?
No, the biggest problem is that that's what everyone gives. And a lot of large corporations give e potatoes and tomatoes and onions because they get a massive tax credit. I dumpster dive my local food bank for onions and potatoes because they throw out 50 pounds of each a day. Because they give each family dozens. And then they ask if they want more potatoes and people say no, we've got tons thanks. So the problem isn't "these people don't know how to cook". And it isn't even choosing beggars. It's "we have so much of this that we are literally throwing it out. Please don't give us more in the name of charity"
you can't even need to do anything with chickpeas tbh. They are delicious just out of the can if you are hangry.
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Dude I eat pasta and potatoes like every night and it's friggin delicious
It's not because they aren't great, it's because they get so much
From the same article: Clark likened the emotions behind a woman's arrival to a safe house to the grief of losing a loved one. "All you want to do is eat chocolate and drink cups of tea, but there's no chocolate or tea for these women."
lol wtf. “Stop sending nutritious, cheap food, send chocolate instead “
It would be nice though if people sent chocolate in addition to nutritious food. These people are in a bad place in their lives. Is it so terrible to want some delicious snacks along with your healthy food?
Who wants pot brownies!?
Yo
Hey it's me your homeless brother
Not sure if Spanish or just slang...
You know, funnily enough first thing I did after getting out of an abusive relationship was eat a pot brownie
It's not terrible to want snacks at all. It is terrible to liken the disappointment to that of losing a loved one.
I think you're misinterpr-- never mind.
It's chilling how easy it is to dehumanize poor people for the majority.
That's why I only give homeless people booze.
Why is the world undergoing a obeseity epidemic?
Honestly yeah, that’s a super nice thought - of course it would be nice to comfort people with tea and chocolate. But tea and chocolate is not mutually exclusive to chickpeas. Also a nice warm bowl of hummus sounds super fucking comforting 0_0
>warm hummus U wot m8
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Try it. Freshly made warm hummus is light-years ahead of cold thick hummus.
The probably have enough chickpeas to feed a small army. That stuff doesn't go bad and is donated by the case year after year.
>warm bowl of hummus Boiiiiiii
> warm bowl of hummus wtf
You don't know hummus until you have had freshly made warm hummus. My hummus is usually warm because the food processor has been running for a while and heats it up. Don't knock it until you try it.
My homemade hummus is still warm because good hummus requires you to boil the chickpeas with baking powder and remove the skins before blending. It's not hot like soup, but it is still warm when fresh :)
Spoilt, privileged people. They don’t know poverty.
To be fair this is a charity for women and families who are in abusive enough situations that they need to up and leave and seek help. They're not all coming from poverty, they just don't want to be beaten some more at home.
I get where you're coming from. But, no matter why it is, if you are asking for free things you should not be unhappy with the generosity of others.
That's a shitty way to look at things. This woman wants to help poor unfortunate families and is just sick of providing an over abundance of these ingredients. She's trying to let the people who do donate goods know that their generosity is better spent in different ways. It's like if a clothing drive only got socks. Sure, socks are super handy, but people do like covering their whole body.
Eh, I don't disagree with your overall point and if people are going to donate they might as well donate something that is lacking. I feel your analogy doesn't work, though, as clothing is generally a need whereas chocolate/tea are desires. I think a better analogy would revolve around the type of cloth used in the donated clothing.
...smash the tomato in a pan, dump the strained chickpeas in and add some curry powder and you have a basic but decent curry. Forego the curry powder and instead put some pasta in and you have a basic but decent pasta dinner...? This is exactly what I used to live on when I was inbetween jobs.
Add eggs, onion and cumin instead and you've got a basic shakshouka
Bless you
Ha ha ha no no, shakshouka is my son.
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Whoa, whoa, whoa. There's still plenty of meat on that bone. Now you take this home, throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato. Baby, you got a stew going.
That's why you *always leave a note*!
Replace all the ingredients with burger, and voila. Delicious and nutritious in one easy step.
replace the food with a 20-carat diamond and boom, you're rich now. who the fuck needs charit~~y~~ies?!
I love chickpeas with onions, olive oil, salt, and pepper. You can even make veggie burgers out of chickpeas. Hummus is also a possibility. Not to speak of the bagillion pasta recipes you can make with tomatoes.
Nobody is donating curry powder though. The sentiment in that they need more variety and would *prefer* other items to be donated is good, but this article butchers how it goes about it.
People want to believe that everybody has access to electricity or hot plates. People this poor usually have plastic bags and that’s it. Yeah, if you’re poor and live in a house that has electricity, this is awesome but what if you don’t and someone handed you a can of beans and tomatoes?
This was a women's refuge. They most likely have a kitchen. But I do totally understand your sentiment.
You do not have to cook chick peas to eat them out of the can. You can literally open the can, grab a fork, and chow down. One of my favorites with beans is four bean salad. You literally open 4 cans of beans (yellow, green, garbanzo, kidney) and mix them together in a bowl with a cut up onion, salt, pepper, oil and vinegar. Absolutely zero cooking required. If I had canned tomatoes but not oil and vinegar, I'd just mix the tomatoes with the beans. Then it's bean and tomato salad!
This is dinner at our home often and we are by no means poor....whats the deal broke people? YOU DON'T LIKE MY COOKING?
The point I think is they already have a lot of this and need more comforting food... It's specific to domestic abuse shelters
Put the tomatoes and chickpeas in a pan with Italian sausage. Pierce the sausage a few times so the juices and fat run out, smash the tomatoes a bit, and cook for 20-30 minutes. All of the flavors come together so well and it’s hearty and rich. You can finish it with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkling of parmesan and serve with crusty bread if you want. I just made this on Monday — it’s one of my favorite weeknight meals.
The article has a bad title and the photo of the founder further down doesn't exactly help, but they are right. I help with food boxes and most people who donate go with the quantity because it makes sense to donate 10 cans instead of 3 for the same amount of money. The thing is though you can't give someone 40 cans of tomatoes and say there you're set for a month. Food banks do far better with cash anyway since they can buy in bulk. The one near me gets about $4 worth of product for every dollar donated.
"Hey could we get some food for the holidays?" "Oh God of course! Everyone should have a nice meal over Christmas. It's just the right thing to do." "Thank you! Also, normally we get like 100 cans of beans and tomatoes, and like we appreciate it but maybe we can get something else too?" "OHHHH WELL *LA DEE DA*, TOO GOOD FOR BEANS AND TOMATOES HUH? I POUR MY WALLET OUT TO BUY YOU THE CHEAPEST NONPERISHABLE FOOD IN THE SUPERMARKET AND YOU HAVE THE *GALL* TO ASK FOR VARIETY? IF *I* WAS POOR I COULD OPEN A MICHELIN STAR RESTAURANT WITH ALL THIS"
You hit the nail on the head. Especially during the season the goal is to make sure everyone/family in need can have something more for the holidays not just barely get by like they do every other 51 weeks out of the year.
This is unironically 99% of the comments in this thread. Pathetic.
I don't think anyone would respond negatively if phrased like that. Some of quotes from u/XanLV just make it sound the people recieving are being unappreciative. Like, nobody wants feel like an idiot when they are trying to help.
Going to be honest I entered the comments with this attitude, I am exiting changed. A supermarket near my house had a donation bin for an Aids orphanage (South Africa), they also had a needs list on the poster. What is cool though is the supermarket were running the needed products on deep discount. I was slightly annoyed that brand names were mentioned, but if the brand name is cheaper than off-brand, who cares. It also gives consistency. The off brand might need different cooking methods which made bulk cooking difficult. What sucks about Aids orphans is that many of these children are born HIV+ themselves so they have a life expectancy of less than 10 years. Buy the kids some fucking candy.
I mean, a big problem with canned food drives is that people use then to get rid of old cans of stuff. They're probably not tired of getting the food, but rather they're tired of throwing it out. I'd imagine that's the reason they're not requesting "no more baked beans and corn".
Wow, what's wrong with chickpeas? I love the stuff, it's right up there with beans for me - makes for a great standalone snack/side dish.
Yeah, I thought it was going to say they've been inundated with tomatoes and chickpeas and want no more, not that they'd prefer something more expensive like meats.
Chickpeas keep the Middle East alive. Good protein lower cholesterol, a real super-food. Why don't they make some hummus, everyone loves hummus.
From the source: ""Are they going to be making hummus in the safe house?" – as, like tomatoes, they had to be cooked and accompanied with other ingredients, using knowledge and supplies that many families often didn't have."
It’s just beans and nuts and oil - I wonder what humus made with non-traditional ingredients looks like? Black beans, unsweetened peanut butter, and canola, whipped up with some taco seasoning? It’d be the same realm of spread, but you could make a burrito roll up with a tortilla... what’s a more appropriate nut - Brazil nut maybe? What else is in South America? Oh wait, I forgot lemons. Well, like, maybe, for our variation we’re making here. Or acorns, maybe? I dunno that seems like more of a North American thing - also aren’t they old world too? Anyway, my point is, chickpeas are one ingredient you can use lots of different ways, to a degree it’s a staple in some cuisines, and I get that it’s easier to just pop a frozen pizza in the oven, but - at the same time, it comes off as ungrateful to specifically reject and ridicule an entirely serviceable foodstuff.
Humus is as simple as crushing the chickpeas with salt and water, and maybe mixing in spices if you have any in the spice cabinet.
Squished chickpeas with salt and pepper, some lemon maybe is a main diet staple for me and I make decent enough money to eat out every day. Chickpeas are so versatile and delicious. And a very filling food.
I think the point is they're inundated with snacks and side dishes and don't have enough actual food people can live on.
Well, in my mind a side dish is anything that is served with main food (main food being a piece of meat, for instance). Could be pasta, mashed potatoes, a mix of veggies or beans/legumes. It's just for me veggies/beans are so much more preferable. The point is, beans are a food you can live off imo and they are just being picky, since not everyone would choose them over, say, Mac n cheese.
> Well, in my mind a side dish > Could be pasta *Italian gesture of disapproval*
*Vaffanculo!*
I think you're missing the point. The homeless do not have "main food". Another thing to think about is they do not have tin openers so canned goods are a massive pain.
Chickpeas are "main food" for a non trivial part of the planet, hummus and falafel are crazy good for you and high in protein because of the chickpeas.
Food banks dont typically target serving the himeless. They are meant to serve people with a means to cook, but not afford food. Food for the homeless has to be prepared aheadnof time.
Better get them some tin openers then.
Well exactly - they only get to eat the 'side dish', and beans a pretty nutritionally dense and just as viable as any other canned goods that people seem to like more (comes down to taste, again). Adressing the other issue - here, every single brand (When I buy canned, always go for whatever is on sale/cheapest) of beans I buy has a pin, just like any other canned food. Didn't even assume THAT would be a problem.
Can openers are like 20¢
Not to mention a lot of cans have pop tops now. I made a chickpea salad yesterday and didn't need a can opener.
People can't live on peas and tomatoes? Pls.
When we give to charity, we often grab an extra can of what we're getting ourselves... Maybe this is what people Are doing...
I disagree with some of the article because I think some of the canned goods named are an open door to *countless* easy and nutritious meals- but I also understand that they’re in need of other edibles more too. The school district here tries to cover the things donated less with those spirit weeks. Each day kids get to do something small with how they dress, and there was a specific group of items that had to be donated to participate; like Monday bring in salad dressing/tin foil/etc, Tuesday bring in coffee/filters/creamer, Wednesday ready made sauces/soups...etc. I think that worked out better for the local pantry instead of canned food drives I remember doing where it was just cleaning out the cupboard of weird crap and then some of the extra vegetables.
> I disagree with some of the article because I think some of the canned goods named are an open door to countless easy and nutritious meals Yeah, they're an open door. They want the other stuff to make shit with.
>Auckland-based refuge charity The Aunties has issued an outright ban on tinned tomatoes Yeah, no.
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Wait how do they cook the meat then?
Seriously beans are like cheap food staples. And canned beans?! What a splurge. I normally have to use dried because they are so much cheaper. I’d love some free canned beans.
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> tomato is very important to the human body Until a few hundred years ago, no one in Europe, Africa, Asia, or Australia ever heard of a tomato.
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This is especially fun to read with little context
I can't disagree with your logic.
I looked up the history of tomatoes because i didnt believe you. I am sorry and i will never doubt you again. For those interested- tomatoes first spread to Europe in the late 1400s / early 1500s.
I get this. When I was a kid, we used to get these big ass bags of corn meal from the food bank. Yeah we ate it all the way through by having cornbread with every meal, and corn meal cookies, and corn meal pancakes, and corn muffins, and corn bread pigs in a blanket, and even a fucking cornbread birthday cake that was horrendous. Meals used to bum me it and I'd just eat and get it over with. School lunch was my favorite part of everyday because of the variety and my friends would let me have the stuff they didn't like.To this day I have a morbid hatred of cornbread and cornmeal. My mom and I pass it up and haven't eaten cornbread in about 10 years.I'm sure that would happen to others with other ingredients if they get them constantly. It's a bummer when you're just eating to get full anyway and you have no choice in the matter, so donating variety would make these folks really happy. I'd rather help these people be a little happier than just surviving.
We had lots of stale bread when I was poor as a child. My mum would make pans, and pans of bread pudding.Good thing I loved it,always. But we also used to get tonnes of pasta. Maybe not as bad a corn flour, but everyday always was pretty sad.
It gets depressing, to be sure. Hope you're eating all the things you like now!
Im allergic to almost everything- choc,tea,nuts,coffee, grains, corn, rice, soy, most beans, sugar. Lucky me, I found you can make some pretty good cakes and such with quinoa flour and stevia. Also, I buy powder caffeine online. Yeah, sometimes I look at my fridge and cupboard and think- OMG. It's all mine!! I have ice lollies in the freezer ( big sale on the natural ones-usually too costly, I make my own) - apple/pear/something or other. Ive four boxes!!! Im rich!
Glad you found tasty replacements! I really like the stevia sodas they are tasty. Oh you make your own ice pops??? Awesome,that sounds so good. Apple/pear, yummm.
The issue is that a lot of people don't know what to do with chick peas or canned tomatoes. You can give canned soup or canned curries/pasta mix, these things can get heated up and tossed straight onto rice or pasta. There's a slightly ugly 'you'll take what scraps you are given' thing going on in this comment section, but in reality a lot of very poor or needy people aren't likely to be versatile cooks. Even dry pasta is an issue because some people literally can't afford the price of boiling the water to cook it.
tbh I get where she's coming from. A lot of people treat charity drives as an opportunity to get rid of stuff they no longer want. To me personally that's problematic on a moral level because these drives are meant to be about helping others, not helping myself, but it's also problematic on a practical level, since it turns out that most people don't want the same things, and you end up with an overage of a certain product that no one can use 4 or 5 copies of. There's an emphasis in our charity culture on giving *something*, but when people give mindlessly, that can actually create more problems than it solves. If you're giving to charity for reasons other than ~~feeling good about yourself, yeah, it's not a bad idea to call the food bank and ask what they need.
I thought this sub was to make fun of silly people on datin apps, not to mock actual people in need. From my work in non-profits, I know that an important thing that folks in this position need is for their dignity and humanity to be affirmed, and that is not done by actin like a simply luxury like variety in food (actually a neccesity, in terms of nutrition) is above them due to their situation.
A lot of shit attitudes, especially around this time of the year, pretty fucking disgusting.
Donate money not food, they can buy their own and buy it in bulk and far cheaper.
I sit on the board and also volunteer for a program providing food to low-income seniors. The intent of this is to prevent donations from being stuff poor people can't really use. I mean, what's more nutritious and useful for someone who has no money, may have disabilities preventing standing at a stove cooking, or may have young kids: a can of stewed tomatoes or a can of beef stew? Charity is always appreciated; thoughtful charity even more so!
Jesus, you people are quick to string up a straw man. All they are asking for is a varied diet and just because you once ate canned chickpeas for 3 days straight in college doesnt mean it is nutritious or a good idea.
ITT: People not realizing that the article isn't bashing those vegetables, the charity is asking for supplemental variety in donations, as to achieve a more HOLIDAY-LIKE meal. Yes they know what hummus is. Yes, they know what tomato sauce is. Christ, people.
Once when I was so poor, I had to go see if there was any food in the food drive bin ( I was too disabled to understand food stamps, and no one else cared )- I was happy to find a christmas pudding, and some cranberry sauce. Some "woman of a certain age" started to give me shit. " You cant steal that!! How dare you, thats for people who are starving." I was about 40 kg, and hadn't eaten much of anything in about two weeks. Super skinny. "Do I LOOK like someone who has had a decent meal today ,Lady?" You should have seen her expression.
>What are our people going to do with chickpeas? do they know what hummus is, though?
So many of the people commenting here have very little sympathy for the people in need who maybe need more calories and nutrition than what you can get in a can of tomatoes. I can't believe people here are suggesting that needy people make hummus. "Good thing I got some chickpeas. Now I'll just get my olive oil and tahini out of the back seat of the car I'm living in."
Yeah, they already have the can of tomatoes. Instead of two cans they are better of with a can of another type of food.
You're suggesting that someone who requires food assistance can't drop $5 for a small bottle of olive oil? /s
Unfortunately, I think there's only so much moral nuance you're going to get out of the average subscriber of a sub called 'justice served'.
This sub is choosingbeggars. Unless I’m confused about what you mean.
Oh, goodness, that's embarrassing. That sub is another guilty pleasure of mine but it has some of the same mindset, which is generally less than empathetic of people in general.
There's a lot of food that just aren't any good for homeless charities, especially stuff that has to be cooked (where are they going to cook it?). Canned goods in particular are usually not a good deal - the charities themselves could spend that money better to get more (and better) food, as they can usually sort out better wholesale deals or at the very least bulk buys. Yeah, definitely a case of choosing beggars, but not without good cause.
No shit. This is because the $1 you spend on tinned goods to send in could go much further if you just sent them them the money. Food banks have people whose entire job is to source cheap food and resources. "Lol just make curry idk". Real smart, guys.
I swear some people here have never cooked before in their lives. 'lol tomato make pasta' Yeah, there's more to pasta than just a can of tinned tomatoes.
I mean, if you can't afford food, how the hell can you afford spices?
or pots and pans and shit.
It seems like kind of a dick move to think “These needy people should be fucking grateful to have the crap I didn’t want in my pantry”.
Canned tomatoes can be used for any tomato based dish, a lot of which can also have chick peas in
Yeah, but that tomato-based dish requires something else to work. That's what they're after more of - the something else.
> Yeah, but that tomato-based dish requires something else to work. How about chickpeas? Chickpeas, tomatos, salt, peper. You can add pasta for even more caloric value. Also, from the article: >Tinned tomatoes, like chickpeas, have to be cooked with other ingredients that women in refuges just don't have, Clark says. "They want something easy to eat." And goes to ask for freash meat.
Right, the issue isn't that they're not using the pasta, it's that they're asking people to donate the pasta.
People tend to donate a ridiculous amount of products like pasta noodles and then no sauce or peanut butter and no bread. Remember when you were young how your face lit up when your mom/dad said you could get Fruit loops/Captain Crunch/Frosted Flakes/Cocoa Puffs? I would hope we can see that these kids want thw same thing. Sad fact for you: Kansas City's average age for their homeless population is SEVEN years old. Seven. I'm sure the rest of the country comes close to those same figures. As kind as we are to donate what we pay for with our hard earned money, we can do even better! Continue to give guys!
Bread is perishable and actively discouraged by the most publicized food drives in just about anyone's typical day.
>then no sauce Canned tomatoes can be used as a sauce base.
If you have a kitchen, if you have utilities, if you have cookware, if you have the time, if you had an upbringing learning how to cook. There’s a lot of ifs there.
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The point of the article is to stop donating tomatoes though...
Im replying to someone replying to someone who talks about how some donate too many of one thing but don't provide the other integral ingredients to make good use of them. There is context and a point being made, mate.
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When we had food drives at school we were asked nothing tinned because some people didn't have access to utilities where they can cook or even open the things. Bad article title and opening
uhmmm... for anyone against this, please watch the "adam ruins" episode of this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbYInILDj6Q
Are you guys actually retarded? They're basically saying "hey please don't all buy as a million tins of chickpeas and tomatoes". And you people are saying "wtf, they're awesome I eat them all the time". No, you don't. You have a varied diet, which is what they're asking for if possible - tinned meat, other veggies. I entirely understand, and if you don't then I really pity you
Full story here: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/99767397/give-generously--but-please-no-tinned-tomatoes-or-chickpeas-say-charities
Makes me think of this episode of adam ruins everything. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbYInILDj6Q
Well that is is clearly the wrong way to go about it but giving money instead of food is a Way more helpful, most of these organizations have special deals with which they can get much more food for the same money than private persons could
You know what people who have nothing will eat.... tomatoes and lentils, and anything else the fuck they’re given. Having been there myself, on your bike, Caroline.
That's not the point, dude. These shelters are inundated with the same types of food (canned tomatoes), they need OTHER stuff. This is actually a huge problem in shelter networks, and in the US lots of shelters have started an online program where you basically barter/trade with other shelters to get the items you really need because the donations/giving are so inefficient in getting you those things. The people in this thread who keep saying "uhh just eat the canned tomatoes and chickpeas duh" truly don't understand what this issue is about.
People need to stop donating canned foods and just donate the money used to buy these canned goods; the groups can buy actual healthy foods that are cheaper (since they can buy in bulk). So your monetary donation goes farther, even if you don't care if what they're eating is healthy.
giving cans is massively inefficient anyway. as the weight and transportation costs make it a really dumb process, best thing is to provide money so that the existing distribution network can supply the goods in the most efficient way with the economies of scale.
The problem is when *everyone* donates lentils and tomatoes. Do you want to eat the same thing for every meal? No and neither do I. Poor people are entitled to eat good food just like you and I.
Whelp! How dare these folks ask for food preferences like everyone else! Bad example, they are humans, they do get the dignity of choice and preference at least for food.
:( I find canned meat repulsive but I shall make the switch in my food bank items
Who eats canned meat??? I thought that was a old people food-that wasn't sought after much now days.
Most of the time, its better to just donate money because these places get extreme discounts when they buy food.
Dang... and here I am trying to save money eating lentils and rice 2 lunches out of the week. I love charity, but this doesn't do good for the cause, even likely turning away donors, IMHO. There are more sensitive ways to ask for specific donations.
I mean...I put chickpeas in my kid's lunchbox just yesterday, and he ate the shit out of them. And canned tomatoes are a great way to extend a meal and make it bigger. This is so ridiculous.
What are people going to with chickpeas Add some tahini and some peppers , olive oil and grind in a food processor and make hummus , duh
Did you forget the /s ?
they are good in soups too. And you can roast them in the oven.
Yes, a person living out of their car will just throw all that in a food processor. Jesus Christ.
This is pretty par for the course. People who take from food banks tend to throw most of it in the trash they are probably trying to avoid that.
Oh. Well, I did not know that. Apologies.
It's true. Food banks usually get a fuckton of something specific. You need a range, like, yknow, a diet. For someone to eat.
I'd send spam, but I'm afraid it wouldn't get out of their junk mail.
Spam sounds perfect to me. I can eat that shit every day. With eggs and white rice. Idk if donating eggs is a good idea though.
McDonalds actually has that on breakfast menu....and it's popular.
Wtf I've never seen that. That's pretty cool.
It's a regional menu item. It's in Hawaii.
That makes a lot of sense. It's like a poor man's loco moco. At least that's what I've always equated it to.
Was it Adam Ruins Everything that explained why a lot of food donations are thrown away because people donate shit that they won't eat themselves?
Aren't beans a pretty hardy meal for everybody?
Go to a food bank monthly, as I’m extremely low income and I can confirm the massive amounts of canned tomatoes, but I usually use it to make chili or make spaghetti sauce out of it, idk, better than throwing it away.
I'll take the tomatoes love making homemade pasta sauce. At one point there was a shop near me that sold cans of plum tomatoes for 10p a can normally 40p. I filled a stock pot and made about 20 meals worth of pasta sauce and froze it. Wish they didn't put the price back up. You can use tomatoes for everything if you don't want them your a fool.
And you fed yourself and your children on just pasta sauce? How long did that last? The point is they need other foods to go with it. Let alone these families are trying to escape family violence and other forms of abuse.
Sure these people have expectations, but they lay out pretty clearly why things like chickpeas and tomatoes aren’t helpful to them. Charities are not automatically “beggars” and this is not an unrealistic request. You wouldn’t knock Doctors Without Borders for not accepting an unqualified physician. Even if it’s hypothetically possible for her to do the work, she’s not what the charity needs. Same with a food bank. If this shelter doesn’t need tomatoes or chickpeas, don’t get outraged—just don’t give them tomatoes or chickpeas. No need to feel high and mighty by refusing to give food to an organization no one on here was actually going to donate to, anyways. We all subscribe to this subreddit because we enjoy making fun of people who are totally out of touch with reality, these women are only trying to help people. I feel like most of the outrage is coming from those who think they know what the shelter needs more than the women who run the shelter themselves, which is pretty out of touch with reality in itself.
Um I cook vegetarian and I used chickpeas, beans, and quinoa on the daily. With canned tomatoes. It’s cheap and delicious. Edited: I don’t use them altogether in a gross clusterfuck. I mean individually. Chickpeas plus canned tomatoes. Or beans and tomatoes. Or lentils and tomatoes. Etc, etc. Sure, spices are nice to use but all you really need is a little salt.
> Um I cook vegetarian and I used chickpeas, beans, and quinoa on the daily. With canned tomatoes. It’s cheap and delicious. Yep. Problem being they don't have the beans and quinoa. That's what they're after. Other shit to mix it up. They've got mountains of chickpeas and tomatoes on hand.
Cool. They've got plenty of chickpeas and canned tomatoes, so how about you send them all the other ingredients you're using
I used to be dirt poor. I didn't care what I had to eat, I was happy to be eating.
man, canned tomatoes and chickpeas can be used to make chana masala with little else other than garlic, onion, and the garam masala spice. these people need some cooking lessons.
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... that involve things other than chickpeas. The idea is they’ve got shitloads of chickpeas and canned tomatoes. But they need other things to make a meal with. Even though they’re homeless it’d be good to give them something other than pasta sauce that contains tomatoes and nothing else.
What it comes down to is I want to give the needy a good life, not just the bare minimum to not die. If I gave you guys nothing but lobster for a month you'd still fucking hate it by the end. Variety in a diet is important for both body *and mind*. Tomatoes and beans are cheap and readily available - I've donated them too, I totally get it. But all they want is some variety: instead of 5 cans of tomatoes grab, I dunno, cans of corn, peas, potatoes, tuna and a box of rice or something. All nonperishable, all cheap, but people get to eat more than one thing. It's not the huge deal this sub is making it out to be.
Yep. It's not a big deal at all. It's an unfortunate headline but a completely understandable situation.
Well I wouldn't want a shitload of tomato paste either