When did food banks start in the UK?

[Snog]

I don't remember food banks being a thing whilst I was young.
Are they a fairly recent phenomena?

I find it so shameful that we need food banks when we supposedly are one of the richest countries of the world 😞

Trussell Trust seem to have set up between 2000-2004 and I doubt they were the first.

They’ve increased in number enormously in the last few years - I did a piece of research on this! (Not that I can remember useful numbers and statistics). They will have been around for ages but in terms of how many, the rate they are mentioned in the media and the level of organisation in running them (ie trussell trust), these have all dramatically increased

And the increase does coincide with Tory governments - although of course ‘correlation does not prove causation’

I was sending people to them 15 years ago but they were small, rare and required a SW referral or similar.

There was a WRVS one (it also had a clothing exchange) that my Granny volunteered at in the 80s.

It was set up in the 70s though (under Labour if you want to get political)

I remember my mother getting tins of meat from the EEC ( European Economic Community) 'food mountain' in the 80s. We were poor.

How ironic is that nowadays!?

Yes I remember the meat and butter! My gran and grandad got them during the 80s - I can’t remember them being in poverty, I think they were eligible as they were pensioners.

The Salvation Army has been around for over 100 odd years and they’ve given food parcels to people who are destitute...not sure how their working model works with trussel trust etc

Those eligible for food in 1980s from the EEC were either on benefits or state pensions.

Not sure, first time I saw one was in the USA where it was mainstream - you didn't need a referral either you could go simple because it was a tough month even if you are working. There there's a bigger culture of those with more helping those with less without involving the government, even the postal service collected bags of food for the food bank periodically.

I actually think that in some circumstances they are a great thing to have, anyone can have a short term need, but unfortunately they seem to quickly be part of the governments welfare strategy rather than an extra

I hadn't even heard of them before this latest government came into power,but I heard a speech by Jacob Rees Mogg on LBC about a week ago,defending the increasing use of them. He said that food banks hadn't only come into use since the Conservatives got into power,that they been around during the time of the last Labour government,but they had done their best to 'conceal' this fact,and not make it common knowledge that they existed. He also said that the fact that a lot more people had access to them now was something to be 'celebrated'. I was like,WTAF? OK,it's a good thing that people who are in dire need DO have access to them,but I question the fact that anyone in this country,supposedly the 5th richest in the world,should actually need to be using them. I blame the introduction of a universal Credit,benefit sanctions and stripping disabled people of their benefits. Celebrated? Wrong choice of word. But then,what else would you expect from JRM?

Trussell Trust ones took off in 2010 encouraged by the government. There had been others but not on the same scale.

This article gives some perspective to the issue.

fullfact.org/economy/how-many-people-use-food-banks/

They've existed for generations. Demand for them has increased exponentially since 2010.

It's a horrible state of affairs.

Our local one (not trussel trust) has been open since 2001.
It’s referral only via SS, the HV or GPs and not open to all.

Temporary food banks for Christmas and Easter where volunteers processed tinned / packaged food have been around since the eighties.

I remember that EEC beef in the white labeled cans. Bleugh.

They were quite a niche, rare thing before the coalition government and austerity. Then they boomed.

Trussel Trust foodbanks (by far the biggest provider) are also referral only by SS, GPs or JobCentre (maybe others). They also are supposed to only be used once or twice a year per recipient - though I know this is a rule that's not tightly adhered to.

Bombardier - That article specifically related to a question time question about use since 2010 and therefore didn't really look prior.

You can always spin the narrative how you want, as seen from this thread there have been various iterations over the last 40+ years. You could equally say that Trussell Trust setting up food banks coincided with the introduction of Tax credits in 2003, doesn't mean the two things are related.

BTW that JRM interview was from Sep 17 but don't let that get in the way of a good tory bash will you !

I went to school in the 80's and remember taking in tins for 'the poor' for school harvest festival. I have no idea where it's actually went, but the idea of food collection charities is not a new one by any means.

Harvest Festival at school in the eighties was always about bringing in a tin to donate to ‘the poor’

Fatted x post!

Many food banks still require a referral from an 'agency' so you can't just rock up and get food... some also set limits on usage and frequency.

loads of support organisations run small informal food banks within their services. So use could be higher.

They have been around, but not nearly as much as now. There are three within walking distance of my house.

I’m not sure when they started but the need for them has increased phenomenally under the Tories. I know this because I advise people on debt and benefits which I have done for over ten years and have to give them out on a daily basis.If anyone is in any doubt whatsoever what a shower of shit this government is, they should come and do my job for a day. It’s really quite eye opening.