to be utterly ashamed and disgusted with this. Food banks iced buns and Weetabix.

[carernotasaint]

i found this article really upsetting. I cannot believe that we have come to this.
As the athletes and dignetaries arrive for the Olympics i cannot muster any enthusiasm for it. I also couldnt help noticing the attitide of some of the people running these banks. Comments about people "not being able to get up early" and the fact that they are happy to hand out iced buns (which are of no nutritional value but lets fact it you"d eat them if you were bloody hungry) and then saying that Weetabix is a bad idea because it soaks up too much milk I have never felt so ashamed to be British.
www.guardian.co.uk/society/2012/jul/18/food-banks-on-hand-outs

I recently helped the Trussel Trust with a food collection at my local supermarket. It was really good to see how much food we collected and the generosity of the shoppers :)

I was chatting to the main guy and he said their statistics show it is actually the 25 and under age group they hand food out to most which surprised me at first. Thinking about it though, if someone is in care or leaves home at a young age, they would be inexperienced and also vulnerable, also unemployment is high amongst younger people.

My mum works at a legal centre and has to hand out the food bank vouchers and she says people with mental illness are the people she feels for most as they are having their benefits messed around with first and they cannot cope.

I wish we didn't have to have food banks, but thankfully if we have to, then people are helping one another which is good.

I think if you VOLUNTEER to work in a food bank then with that you do get the right to judge amongst yourselves.

It is incedibly sad that foodbanks are needed but they are and the nearest one to my town is almost a 10 mile round trip, people have been walking 10 miles to get there.

Thats what Mr and Mrs Mullins were doing before they commit suicide last year.

Surely you don't pay rates if it's a charity??

The nearest one to where I live is a bus ride away, so not helpful if you're broke. I'll go and ask the church if there's somewhere closer.

It amazes me how the Government manages to find money to upgrade rail networks etc when people can't even afford to feed themselves.

I remember that recession too. I think this is more like the 1930's depression, long and hard. The shops in afluent towns didn't close down last time, there have been loads folding this time.

'Iced buns' - apparently each food package contains a treat (something nice, like chocolate or cake), i dont see a problem with that as we all like a little treat dont we.

The only thing i am ashamed of is the fact that there are nt more food banks, we dont have any near us, i would happily put a item in the food bank each time i do a shop (if everyne gave an item which doesn't have to cost a fortune then more of these people/families could get help).

I have been giving to a local food bank for the last 15 years so they are not new. There are always people within our society who whether it be due to addiction, mh problems, unable to access benefits ect who will require what the help they provide.

My local project gives out a list of items they require. They never ask for fresh produce and tinned meat is always at the top of the list. Tinned potatoes and uht milk are also staples they always need.

The rail upgrade seems so ridiculous. It's going to knock 10/20 minutes off a rail journey but it's going to cost billions. A long term strategy needs to be implemented, but it shouldn't be at the cost of the short term. There's people in need now, families are unable to feed their children. In the long term, families reliant on food parcels are going to be deficient in vital nutrients if they are surviving on canned and dried goods. I can understand that these are easier to store, but the long term effects for these families needs looking at.

It does feel worse then a recession, it feels never ending.

For all those wanting to donate to foodbanks but without one nearby - you can easily donate money to the Trussell Trust online and then they'll spend it on whatever's most needed that week.

www.trusselltrust.org/donate

I'm sure there are lots of other similar organisations that you can also donate to.

"David Cameron recently said he "welcomed" the work done by food banks and, for many in his party, their growing presence is a happy embodiment of the concept of the "big society" "

This is the bit that sickens me. I always suspected that this big society was a cynical attempt to absolve mps of their responsibility. I know the guardian has spun it a bit but

I have two huge bags of non-perishable stuff in the boot of my car, that I was hoping to donate to the nearest local foodbank, but I read on their website that they only accept stuff that is in date.

All the food is "best before" and is nothing that I wouldnt use myself, but I had a clear out, and wanted to free up some space.

Would there be any point in me driving down there to drop it off does anyone know? Will they take it?

If its out of date, it will probably be safe, the nutrition though will not be great any more, I would think someone going to a food bank would need nutritious food more than empty calories, which is what food no longer at their best, would be.

Upgrading railways however provides lots of solid employment for local workers - a better deal for them than benefits (I'm not saying that generous benefits are a bad thing in a recession, but they are not going to solve the problem, they're just a sticking plaster).

Trussell Trust website is the easiest way to find local foodbanks - mine were slightly gobsmacked when I wandered in off the street with a bag of donations - I don't think they get many random people (though they do raise a lot through specific supermarket appeals).

I don't know squeaky

A lot of the 'we only accept food in date' will be so that no-one can sue them over a stomach but I expect.

They'll have to adhere to insurance company rules.

*bug

I'm involved with our local food bank. We wouldn't accept fresh fruit (because it might start to rot before it could be distributed) or stuff that was past its sell by/best before date.

The scale of the donations we get from supermarket collections is staggering, and yet the level of demand is such that it is soon gone.

It seems like such an inefficient way to support people.

All those people buying tins and jars at retail price delivering them to the church where they are sorted and bagged and given out to people who've had to travel miles to get there and feel humiliated asking for some that they might or might not like.

Surely it has got to be less wasteful to give people money then they can go to a local shop and buy wheatabix or creamcrackers or veg or whatever they want.

The whole system seems designed to humiliate and punish people (on the governments side) and get them into church/give the church some relevance (on the charities side).

Some people using food banks will be drug addicts, alcoholics, people with mental health issues etc. handing them money to buy food.will not work as some people will use the money to fund their addiction instead.

So hand them supermarket vouchers so they can choose their own food. People with mental health issues won't spend their money on their addiction, you're making huge assumptions.

I havent read the whole thread, but that article saddened me so much.

Is this what we have come to?

It reminded me of Adrian Mole....

Waiting for the Giro (Thursday, 30 September -- Growing Pains)

The pantry door creaks showing empty Fablon shelves.
The freezer echoes with mournful electrical whirrings.
The boy goes ragged trousered to school.
The woman waits at the letterbox.
The bills line up behind the clock.
The dog whimpers empty-bellied in sleep.
The building society writes letters penned in vitriol.
The house waits, waits, waits.
Waits for the giro.

Some people using food banks will be drug addicts, alcoholics, people with mental health issues etc. handing them money to buy food.will not work as some people will use the money to fund their addiction instead.
love the way you just lump everyone in together.....so people with mental health issues shouldn't receive help?