Britain's Hidden Hunger

[KanelbulleKing]

www.itv.com/hub/britains-secret-hunger-exposure/2a7613a0001

Just watching this on catch up and I'm sobbing. How has Britain sunk so low as a country that children are frightened of school holidays because they know they'll be hungry? Children thinking it's Christmas because their family has received a few bags of basic food items?

The existence of food banks in one of the richest countries in the world is a national disgrace. My MIL is knocking on 80 and spends her spare time peeling potatoes and carrots for the lunches her church provides for anyone who needs them. She should be putting her feet up and being served herself but she won't because she's too worried about her 'guests' going hungry.

Time for change?

I’ve heard (on MN) of more than one foodbank that had a table for people to help themselves to extra things (and that the random chutney etc donations went there). I imagine stock cubes and herbs could go there too.

I’m not critiquing you corn, it’s completely unacceptable that your situation isn’t temporary or easily resolved by government support in such a wealthy country in 2019.

Monica you might have the ingredients to make up lovely meals but other people using the food bank don’t, and they can’t personalise their contributions

I'm not talking about having the ingredients, I'm talking about having £1 for a soup pack of root vegetables. If I had been given the rest of my regular shopping list then that would have gone much further than foods like Coco Pops. Of course, I know beggars can't be choosers, and we made do with what we got.

Food bank I worked in had a standard list, e.g a box of cereal, tin of soup, meat, teabags. We also had a table where extras and also out of date items could be taken. Stuff like toothbrushes, shampoo, chutney and spices went in there. We also used to put chocolate or sweets in the bags if we had any. We kept in depth stats on why people visited. For many it was between benefits, illness, domestic violence and also people on probation.

Frankly soup made with no stock, no herbs, no butter, no wine, no meat is going to be pretty mediocre eating.

I make tasty soups that my family all love- I never put wine or butter in soups, never. They would taste terrible. I often don't use meat either. Leek and potato, carrot soup, pumpkin soup - all very tasty with a few herbs or just salt and pepper. The vegetables make the stock. Your post sounds like you've never made soup in your life.

@Passthecherrycoke , you a missing a trick. My dd insists on them - there are obviously other fabrics you can use or ones you can buy ready made.
Cold rinse to get the stuff out. Normal wash. Air dry.

About to watch it now, thanks for the tip @KanelbulleKing Love your name, made my own kanelbullar today.

I wasn't even 2 mins in. Watching the 10 year old girl close to crying was so sad.

@bellinisurge I’m not making them for food banks though. I’ll carry on with pads and if I need a food bank I’ll be bloody happy to get some lovely pads rather than make my own I’m sure I’ll have more important things to be doing with my time

Food banks and period poverty charities won't accept them anyway.

It’s appalling we live in this country and yet this happens. My thanks to those who have shared their stories . I still don’t fully understand why we have genuinely hungry people, and yet so much waste. My office canteen for instance are not allowed to sell or give away left over food, so if they make too much (not that unusual) trays of cannelloni, curry, rice, all sorts gets binned at 2pm end of service. We are opposite a homeless shelter they say it’s because we would be liable if it was given out so they can’t risk it. Same goes for last date unsold sandwiches, etc. I would guess most offices, hotels etc are the same in terms of slinging out food.

So for me, the issue is not only the top richest and big companies having all the wealth, and that injustice of distribution, but also a lack of common sense in how we distribute food in society.

I had to use a food bank, and I found it very difficult to make meals up. That doesn't mean I wasn't grateful for what I was given though, I was of course. Our food bank did a fresh food day as well, where you could get bread and some fruit and vegetables (donated by local supermarkets), That really helped.
Re the soup, I thicken mine with potatoes (powdered potatoes are fine) and put a tin of chickpeas in for protein, flavoured with cheapie stockcubes and some basic spices. That makes it into a proper meal, with a bit of bread. My Mum used to make dumplings and feed the whole family of seven on a pan of soup.

Reusable sanitary pads. You can make funky ones yourself with an old T-shirt, old towel and an old fleece. Old Kids T-shirts are great because the patterns are usually cool. Charity shops for fabric if you don't have your own.

Aside from any other argument, you are assuming that the people have the washing facilities available to clean them in a timely manner.

Reusable sanitary pads. You can make funky ones yourself with an old T-shirt, old towel and an old fleece. Old Kids T-shirts are great because the patterns are usually cool. Charity shops for fabric if you don't have your own. I don't have any old clothing that isn't still being worn, especially kids t-shirts, they fit for years. What would it cost to buy the above from a charity shop? How long would it take to sew them by hand? I can buy a pack of pads for 66p and tampons for 95p.

@MidniteScribbler - obviously I realise that's not always feasible. I'm not an idiot. But I am just pointing out there are alternatives to being tied to buying disposables every month. A bought reusable costs about £10 which is an off putting amount. There are alternatives.

Do the reusable pads not move about a bit? Like if I wanted to do a cartwheel or something (or more sensibly do yoga or clamber into a softplay frame)

No. They have snaps to hold them in and usually have fleece fabric on the bottom which stops them sliding about. Dd uses H-pads for sport. Or period pants which I invested in for her - those are expensive

Just to back up Bellinisurge as the consensus so far seems to be that homemade reuseable pads are not a good idea.

I made a batch using an old worn towel as liner and baby grows DD had outgrown. Used the snaps from the baby grows as fasteners for underneath. Made up 2 dozen pads, for nothing but my time which is more than is needed for any 1 period. They are rinsed off with cold water the. put into a 30 degree wash to give them a proper clean.

Much more comfortable than disposable crinkly papery pads, o scents or chemicals that irritate skin and no monthly cost, they do not take up much space in the washing machine, so go in with other clothes.

They do not need a hot wash as hot water would set the stains so a 20-30 degree eco wash is perfect.

Thanks, I'd always vaguely wondered how they worked. I was imagining velcro I think.

I watched the programme last night. It really does show how close any of us could be to having to use a foodbank

Heartbreaking that the teachers and school pastoral workers were having to look out for signs of children that might go hungry over summer holidays

I've just got back from grabbing some bits from the supermarket for our Reverse Advent Calendar for the local foodbank. They expect number of users to increase by 75% within the foodbanks over Xmas, so it seems a good time to start building up donations

@Camomila no, I use pads from Honour your flow. They have poppers on the wings. I wear with big pants and they stay put.

I watched the programme today and had a bit of a lightbulb moment. There's always been something that has niggled me about the collection bins in supermarkets and donation requests from food banks.

The volunteer from Camborne suddenly highlighted the issue when he drew attention to the well stocked shelves of donations that were from local people popping a tin or packet in the supermarket bin.

Those donations are bought at full profit making price by people who are likely to be paying tax, national insurance, council tax etc etc. So Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Lidl, Heinz, Kellogg's etc etc are still making a huge profit and have accountants who ensure they avoid paying as much tax as possible. Alongside a government who now expect charities to feed some of their most vulnerable citizens.

It's an absolute disgrace. Sorry rant over, thank you.

It's heartbreaking. Absolutely heartbreaking. Not just kids but old folk, people with disabilities etc too.

Without wishing to get on the soapbox too much, I hope people remember the utter desperation that some people are facing when they cast their vote.....

@pusspuss9 - totally agree. All the horror at eating porridge (which is made with water- as it should be) and soups, etc is bizarre. Those foods are healthy, delicious and much better than sugary cereal. I think some people are just so used to packaged food. Also all the horror makes me think that those pps have never been poor- which is good for them but also means they’ve never learned how to manage on little either.

@mrsmellivora - thanks for sharing your story. My foo are not as bad but a bit like that so I get what you say. I’m so busy at the moment but hope I can help a young person in need in the future (or an old person).