Yesterday, an Auckland refuge said they weren't taking any more donations of tinned tomatoes.
However, Hamilton's Salvation Army is happy to take the tinned tomatoes off everybody's hands.
The Hamilton charity is in the midst of a tinned tomato shortage and says the refuges are "being a bit fussy", Fairfax reports.
Auckland charity The Aunties had deemed the tinned tomatoes useless for women and children and that a Porirua refuge boss wasn't sure on what people would use donations of chickpeas and lentils for.
Hamilton Salvation Army food bank coordinator Christine Canty said she was "shocked" at the charities for turning the donations away.
"We are very short on things like tomatoes."
She said the rejected cans of tomatoes, chickpeas and lentils are staples in Salvation Army food parcels given to families at this time of year.
At the moment, some parcels are only getting one can instead of the usual two.
"The staples are never going to go out of fashion."
And hungry families will usually eat anything, Ms Canty said.
Dieticians NZ's Helen Gibbs said children in a refuge situation needed familiar foods to make them feel safe in a difficult time.
She recommended people ask charities what they needed before donating.
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