Foodbank buying items from shops?

Normalising came in the 2010s. I agree that they should never be needed.

Food banks have become normal now. It’s not normal in a supposedly civilised and affluent country to have people so hungry they rely on food banks to survive. When did this happen? Why do people just accept their existence? More should be done so they are no longer needed. It’s a sorry state of affairs when people have to use them even once, never mind months on end.

I’ve just downloaded that app, thanks. I just did my monthly donation but it’ll be good for next time. One thing I buy regularly is squash because I remember how awful it was having to constantly drink water as a kid because my mum couldn’t afford to buy it. It never quenches your thirst properly.

In many cases yes, but that not the families fault isn't there and withdrawing support for the FB doesn't fix the issue either. I think there is a lack of awareness and understanding too as to just how tight things have become for so many families even with working parents.

This was charity run. It wasn't going to make anyone ill, it was the same as yellow sticker food that people buy discounted in shops.

We donate to food banks via Ocado - so money rather than specific items.
We can also donate money, as well as food items, at some of our local shops for the food banks.

They need the vans to go and collect donations from shops, schools, community collections, churches, etc.

Food banks are something you can donate to in different ways. If you don't agree with the way they do things you aren't forced to donate.

And why would they want food items which are out of date?

To be fair, if people need to rely on FBs for that long then clearly there are potentially other unaddressed issues - some which probably need professional support.

Fair enough. I don't really know what I can do other than plug holes. Sorry my earlier responses may have been overly harsh.

People can donate money to foodbanks as well as food so I guess that’s how they buy the food.

The independent ones may do that, but charity run ones won’t. Why would they want to give you food that’s likely to make you ill ?

I don't disagree. I just don't feel personally able to help for the tome being.

So you thought there was a time limit on poverty, like people are only poor for a maximum of 18 months? How would that work exactly?

But housing associations don’t run on air. How will they buy / build new stock or carry out repairs if people don’t pay rent? The government used to provide grant but those days are gone.

Addiction is a huge and very specific life issue, it must have felt impossible to help them properly, because yes just keeping them alive with food is not going to change their long term outcome. However, with other people using the food bank, I do believe that temporary support with the basic requirements of normal functioning can do a lot to help someone through. It's like they don't have to be trying to cover all bases at once, so if the food is mostly taken care of, they can focus, for example, on getting back on track with their income.

I think that as food bank referrals come from a support organisation, then people who are there do have the bigger picture being addressed by other support.

Yes, hole plugging only goes so far though.
I personally don't feel able to do any more hole plugging for the time being, I'm busy trying to make sure I don't make any holes of my own. We can all only give what we're able to give.

What?

But the OP is just talking about "foodbanks". If you want free food do you really care if it's coming from a charity, a church or an independent community pantry sort of place? And yes, if you're a CF who doesn't need free food but just wants free food, there is nothing stopping you "rocking up" to foodbanks and that is what the poster I was responding to said didn't happen. When it clearly does.

Maybe there is an argument that people should be better informed about the ethos of the foodbank they are choosing to donate to, and the consequences of the no referral needed approach.

I suspect a lot of unconscious bias at play. The concept of people volunteering their time and money seems alien to OP.

That's kind of how I see foodbanks - hole plugging.

Depends.. we can accept:

a receipt for a large unexpected bill
a pip/ dla statements
a screenshot from their bank showing lack of funds

There is a bit of flexibility eg if someone had just been placed and they can show their paperwork to say it’s the first month in the properly or if a social worker contacts us we often offer a 1 off emergency parcel without the evidence.

I had to use a foodbank a few times years ago when ds was little. I’d left my ex husband, I was working min wage but claiming top up housing benefit. He called them to tell them I was committing benefit fraud as he paid child maintenance, just to be a dick. Obviously it wasn’t fraud, but they had to immediately suspend my claim to investigate the claim and he decided it was best not to pay maintenance while they did so. Absolute prick, we almost got evicted and the council work at a snails pace to rectify things. The council do refer us to the foodbank though.

Ds and I are both coeliac, so we can’t just eat anything. Luckily, food banks use donated money to buy gluten free food.

The awful thing is, I did have people, even on here at times, tell me I should have been grateful for any free food and just eaten it regardless of dietary requirements. Anyone with any understanding of celiac disease will understand why that’s maddening to hear.

girlfriend44 -Why don't you volunteer to help out at a food bank or a soup kitchen? Get to know the stories from the people who use these facilities. Yes it can seem daunting if it's out of your comfort zone, but 99% of the users are just grateful for food/hot meal. You may get a lot out of it.

These are independent foodbanks like Cycle, which uses food which would otherwise go to waste. Local churches also run foodbanks. Our community pantry here is a mix of free and low cost food. To access foodbanks like The Trussel Trust, Salvation Army and others who are funded by charities, donations and grants, you need a referral. And that’s important because it means that the person referred may have multiple need, and a referral to a foodbank may be just one part of multiple referrals for the help they need. For those people ‘rocking up’ at any one of the organisations you’ve mentioned, would mean a bag of food and nothing more.

My friend works for the charity which, among other things, runs our local food bank. They get donations but they also apply for grants to cover their running costs.

How did you think it worked?

Regulatorsmountup Maybe be thankful you can afford to buy your food /essential items /medicine and not be having to use a food bank? What a judg mental post!