Food bank Fussiness

[VeronicaFranklin]

I volunteer at a local food bank on a Saturday morning, recently due to cost of living we've had more and more people using it.

All sorts of people, some working families, some exclusively on benefits, some elderly, retired due to ill health and some homeless / alcohol/ drug addiction. There really is no face to food poverty and it's very sad to see so many people struggling to feed themselves and their families. I feel glad there are places people can turn to if they need help...

However...

We give people a sheet when they arrive, they tick a number of items (depending on if they are a family/couple/single person) they wish to have, I go off to pack up their items.

More recently I've had people complain if they wanted something we had a previous week but don't have this week, i.e. requesting Frosties and we only have Cornflakes, or Semi skimmed milk but we only have skimmed. One lady said to me on Sat when I didn't have the soup she liked ' well it just isn't good enough'...

Also people arguing with us if say someone has received a certain brand (donated) and they haven't. For example someone got 'Asda's own washing up liquid and saw someone had got 'Fairy' brand washing up liquid and started complaining it wasn't fair...

I just feel really disappointed. Everyone is entitled to help and most people are very thankful but we rely solely on donations and charity surplus to run the food bank, many of the volunteers give up their time to help even when their circumstances aren't much better than those using the food bank and we often buy items to bring to cover the shortfall in donations especially toiletries such as sanitary towels and toothpaste, but I can't help feeling recently like people are being ungrateful.

Is it unreasonable if you're getting something for free to feel you're entitled to complain? How would you handle it?

Maybe you misunderstood my post?

She had enough money to feed herself if she bought groceries and cooked. Instead she blew most of her weekly budget on just one or two meals: takeaways delivered to her home at a cost of £12 to £15 for just one meal, then for the rest of the week had to use the food bank.

And yes IT IS other people's business, because she was taking food from the food bank that was donated to help the genuinely struggling, not self infulgent stupid selfish people who blow their entire week's food budget on expensive luxury delivered food!

Any organisation giving food away is going to be abused by the minority, we do a weekly food bank shop and take it to a local bank run by a Church, they are on an industrial estate some way from any housing, shops etc, the end users have to make a big effort to get there!
Although they will deliver in exceptional circumstances.

I was donating to a more local one on a busy shopping street, I stopped when I say someone queuing for a parcel with a can of Monster energy drink in their hand.
Judgemental I know but seeing the end users I couldn’t help but think using a food bank meant more money available for drugs,alcohol etc.

Nothing on this thread would stop me donating, I think we have to go back to the OP’s question should people be entitled to complain when they are getting something for free?

The answer in my opinion is no, If you were genuinely in need you would not complain.

@JuvenileEmu

All that is being asked is a basic concern for the effect of slamming food bank users online.

Not lofty heights of care and empathy, though the OP clearly cares deeply and empathy is second nature to her. She has emphasised those qualities of hers.

Sense of responsibility and desire or ability to weigh the comparitive importance of airing her personal pet peeve against the public interest of maintaining goodwill toward food banks - not so much.

She could have chosen to slag off the food bank guests to her heart's content in private, but perhaps that wouldn't have done justice to the importance of her complaint.

Nor would it have caused people to pile on with comments about luxury cars, piss takers selling donated food items, weed smoking, and generational sponging.

But hey ho - clearly the personal complaint is far more important than the chances of putting people off donating or volunteering.

I don't profess to have special levels of empathy.

The OP can judge the people at the food bank, and I can judge the OP, and you can judge me.

Another thread going at the moment moaning that they are shut on Monday, obviously volunteers shouldn't be expecting to have the Bank Holiday off like paid people do. I'm surprised you do it OP nobody respects it, they just want to post on threads how they donate to the food bank and how virtuous they are

I'm really not sure what your problem is to be honest. You spout on about how much this thread should be taken down or deleted all while commenting on it every 5 mins. I'd say you've enjoyed this thread more than hated it.

You're entitled to your opinion and you've attacked everyone who doesn't agree with it so far.

But you could have left the personal attacks on me. Bit unnecessary.

@VeronicaFranklin

Show me how I have 'attacked individuals'.

Note this is not the same thing as disagreeing with them.

Nor is it the same as descriptions and synopses of your posts here.

I repeat, if you disavow the ugly opinions and comments here wrt guests of food banks, you should ask for this pernicious thread to be taken down.

If you won't do it and instead continue to double down on your claim that you have a right to post anything you wish anonymously on a public forum with no regard for the damage you do, then I think readers here are entirely justified in forming their own conclusions as to your intentions in posting.

your claim that you have a right to post anything you wish anonymously on a public forum

Its not the OPs claim - it a legal right.

And yes you are entitled to form an opinion, as many have about your own incessant, repetitive and hounding posts.

Quote the entire sentence that I posted, @Shpaniel.

It doesn't have quite the same meaning as the section you carefully C&P'd.

Scroll past my posts if you find them incessant or repetitive.

As to 'hounding'? We may have to agree to disagree that posting on a public forum in response to someone else's comments constitutes 'hounding'.

If I did request to take this thread down (which I won't), I suspect you would be more dissapointed than you think, it seems like a hobby for you... hounding anyone who disagrees with you.

Its been a nice little match of forum table tennis.
But it's getting tiresome now, so I'll respectfully bow out.

Thanks again, if you continue to post in this thread you allegedly dislike so much but that you keep it going 👍

@autocollantes What an intelligent post🫀❤️

No time for you OP.

Don't work with highly stressed people if you expect them to behave like they're not stressed.

I had a bit of a rough session at my own volunteering gig a few days ago (those we help are under incredible stress, and it all got pretty tense).
I'm going to keep the above as my mantra when it happens again.
Thank you@autocollantes

I think this is an excellent matra. I have also had experiences where someone behaved in a way I found scary and it was hard not to take it personally.

Solidarity for all on the front line!