Tinned tomato comments ‘ill-judged’
Tinned tomatoes and lentils are welcome at Manawatū food banks, and comments from charities suggesting otherwise are unfortunate and ill-judged, the head of Women’s Refuge says.
Debate over whether the items made for suitable donations was sparked on Wednesday when Auckland refuge charity The Aunties banned tinned tomatoes and put the kibosh on donations of tinned lentils and beans, saying such items needed to be cooked and accompanied by other ingredients, using supplies families didn’t have.
Women’s Refuge chief executive Dr Ang Jury said the comments were not something the national organisation agreed with, while local charities including the Palmerston North’s Women’s Refuge, Methodist Social Services and the Hamilton and Palmerston North Salvation Army, all said they would welcome donations of such items..
‘‘It was very unfortunate. We don’t agree with those comments around tinned tomatoes and lentils. That was ill-judged commentary from our perspective,’’ Jury said.
‘‘We had a wee bit of a backlash on social media, which is really unfortunate at this time of year. We are trying to keep a positive face around Christmas and we don’t want people getting the message that we are ungrateful and entitled.’’
Jury said ‘‘of course we would’’ welcome donations of canned tomatoes and lentils.
‘‘Some of our women are actually pretty good cooks. They know what to do with lentils and tinned tomatoes.’’
But in general, Women’s Refuge food banks were in good stead heading into Christmas.
‘‘We always do well at Christmas time. The community is always very supportive of Women’s Refuge. I have not heard anywhere around the country where that is not the same this year.’’
But an area they were lacking in was festive food items that would help make Christmas Day special for families.
It was the same story for Methodist Social Services, social worker Stacey Rohloff said.
She said things like jelly and items to put together a trifle would be a nice touch for their clients.
While they had a healthy stock of canned tomatoes, Rohloff said they would never turn them away.
‘‘We will take whatever is given. We don’t want to turn away tomatoes and lentils, because we run all year. It is not just about Christmas time for us.
‘‘When it comes to winter, we hand out recipes that say if you throw in chickpeas or lentils into a casserole, it beefs it up and turns a meal for four into eight.’’
Meat, instant noodles, tea bags, toilet paper and Christmas presents for teenagers were among items they were short of.
Palmerston North Salvation Army Captain Stewart Lee said they were on track to handle the demand of their busiest two weeks of the year after a successful food drive last month.
‘‘We have been overawed by the generosity of the community,’’ he said.
But they were always grateful for any donations, especially considering families still needed support after Christmas.
Donations to Methodist Social Services on Main St and the Salvation Army on Church St or at Feilding’s Manchester House, Aorangi St, were welcome.