Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think a food bank is not an appropriate place for a school trip?

94 replies

mumofmanymonsters · 04/02/2015 18:33

I had to name change because I think it will be obvious who I am!

DD is in 5th year (Scotland, she is 16) and we have had a letter home saying that every class has to take their turn of going to watch how the local food bank works.

I really don't think it's right. Surely people deserve more privacy than a bunch of gawping teenagers?

She doesn't want to go and I'm not making her.

OP posts:
ouryve · 04/02/2015 18:51

I think it's a great idea, so long as there's no one there who doesn't agree to it or doesn't want to risk being "outed".

10/11 year olds can get really angry when they realise that there is injustice. Our local school collects for a food bank for the Harvest Festival. I dare say a few of their parents have been recipients of parcels, themselves, since we live in an area with its fair share of deprivation.

Bathtime I would like to think that kids seeing these places (and in some places learning they exist, since I don't see as much discussion about foodbanks in the media in general as I do in my own angry little corner of the Internet) might just be spurred on to do something that would make them less necessary when they're old enough to do something about it.

BathtimeFunkster · 04/02/2015 18:53

Yes, poor people don't need access to decent pay and conditions and a robust safety net - all they need is some religious people to hand them a few tins of beans and some cartons of UHT milk. (But not more than thrice lest the greedy bugger become used to not feeling hungry.)

Biggles398 · 04/02/2015 18:53

My daughter's Primary school did this. For their harvest festival, while some food was donated to the elderly within the village, the rest went to the local food bank. The older children took it there, saw how it worked and helped out (stock taking and shelf filling, not distributing it to the public). The kids that went, learnt a lot, and those that didn't go, were told about it, so I didn't even consider your points tbh

BathtimeFunkster · 04/02/2015 18:56

ourvye - I think the lesson will be about how great charity is and how wonderful it is that when people's lives fall apart they have to look for handouts because they are entitled to so little.

The need for food banks is shameful.

Going on visits to learn how brilliant they are is political.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 04/02/2015 18:57

From a practical point of view, as long as the service users are aware if the visit, and won't be put to any disadvantage if they dont want to attend on that day, no issue.

From a more "moral"/point of view I'd be deeply concerned about what message the pupils are meant to take away. Anything that might imply the service users are in anyway lesser or other or requiring a food bank due to their actions/ inactions is not on.

HelenaDove · 04/02/2015 19:00

Agree with Bathtime.

Momagain1 · 04/02/2015 19:01

Going to the food bank as part of a funds or goods raising drive = good
Going to the food bank to gelp behind the scenes = good (many of them are more than large enough to accomodate 30 teens sorting donations and prepacking what goods can be)

Dealing with clients? NO

ThatBloodyWoman · 04/02/2015 19:01

I would rather prefer my dc's to spend the time exploring greed,than poverty.
Lets deal with the cause rather than the effect,and teach our kids some sort of moral compass so we can bring a new generation understanding the need for community,compassion,sustainability...

BathtimeFunkster · 04/02/2015 19:02

The very act of going on a visit implies that the service users are "other".

Otherwise they could just go on a school tour to the supermarket.

[Which, with proper access to what happens behind the scenes, would be a lot more educational.]

revealall · 04/02/2015 19:03

I think it's just a place where surplus food is given to people who need it. Hardly the walk of shame.
Perhaps some people might be embarrassed but I can't see why really. (obviously if the students are told that the poor people are doing something that other people consider embarrassing)...
Hopefully the students will be told that the recipients are making use of a redeployment of goods service rather than a sub class getting handouts.

Stinkle · 04/02/2015 19:05

I volunteer at our local good bank and we regularly have primary and secondary school visits. They 'help' out packing, sorting and shelf filling, etc, for a couple of hours, learn about how it works, etc, etc

However, I volunteer at our main warehouse, we don't have clients coming in at all. It's "open", but only for donations, not service users. We don't allow the visits at the collection points.

ProfYaffle · 04/02/2015 19:08

It all depends how it's done. I'm involved in referring people to food banks and as part of that we visited to see how it works. We were all kept well away from users and spent our time behind the scenes in the storage/sorting area.

APlaiceInTheSun · 04/02/2015 19:12

Fine if they will learn that not everyone using them is there because they "can't budget" and that actually they are quite a recent addition to the way people live

In our society the welfare of the people is the concern of the representatives elected by the people - ie govt & councils. I am proud to pay my taxes to contribute to the support others in time of need - I may well be on my arse one day myself and need it. It shouldn't require "hand outs" and food drives.

HappyAgainOneDay · 04/02/2015 19:14

Stinkie Off topic, I know, but do you check the service users to see that only genuinely needy people benefit from the foodbank?

How do you weed out those who are just taking unreasonable advantage of the foodbank something that they don't need?

If the pupils were to go to the warehouse, that's OK. If I were a needy person visiting a foodbank, I would not want gawpers even behind the scenes because there'd be open doors or windows in walls through which I might be be seen.

ProfYaffle · 04/02/2015 19:19

In order to access foodbanks, clients need to get a voucher from places like the GP, Social Services or the CAB. I work at the CAB, we will only issue vouchers if clients are prepared to engage with us on some level to explore whether there's anything that can be done to help their wider circumstances. Officially clients are only allowed 3 vouchers per year.

Original poster
mumofmanymonsters · 04/02/2015 19:22

Officially clients are only allowed 3 vouchers per year.

Really?! I didn't know that.

I am a bit unconvinced. If they were only allowed in the store room it would be different.

OP posts:
revealall · 04/02/2015 19:23

I also think that whilst there is so much food waste in this country a food bank is a much better way than taxes to get food shared out.
It makes me really cross how much our supermarkets chuck out. In fact everyone with a cupboard full of food has out of date something or other lurking.
Wish there were more places to share out food. Bit like charity shops which have no stigma at all attached to them.

BlushingMeadows · 04/02/2015 19:24

YANBU. As you say, it's similar to Victorians touring slums and Bedlum. The history of food banks can be taught without a tour through someone's misery.

betweenmarchandmay · 04/02/2015 19:25

Horrible really that people have to explain themselves for a box of cheap food.

I understand how it happens. At the same time, I don't.

morningtoncrescent62 · 04/02/2015 19:25

I would rather prefer my dc's to spend the time exploring greed,than poverty.

This. I think it sounds horrible - and I'm deeply dubious about any 'consent' that service users would give. If you're relying on a food bank it would be hard to say no, I don't want to meet/talk to/be watched by groups on a school trip. There are surely other and better ways to learn about poverty and the unequal distribution of wealth in Scotland.

egnahc · 04/02/2015 19:29

we need to get to a position where there is no stigma attached to going to a food bank- then it wouldn't be an issue.

Stinkle · 04/02/2015 19:29

Happy we run on a referral basis.

Outside agencies (GP, HV, Social services, Job centre, CAB, some of the drug and alcohol charities, etc) refer their clients to us.

Technically it's supposed to only be 3 visits a year, but we do let it go sometimes.

I helped out in one of our collection points one day as they were short staffed and bumped into one of the mums from my DD2's school. She was horrified, it was awful.

rinabean · 04/02/2015 19:30

It's disgusting. I bet the organisers are dismayed that there aren't any proper asylums they can go round with sticks any more. Gross

God I can't imagine being the subject of a school trip going there. People get upset enough about medical students sitting in on appointments but at least they are actually learning something from that. There is nothing they can learn from seeing the real life poor people in their natural habitat they couldn't be taught in the classroom. God!! Imagine if your mum walked in in front of all your classmates?

Original poster
mumofmanymonsters · 04/02/2015 19:31

we need to get to a position where there is no stigma attached to going to a food bank- then it wouldn't be an issue.

But making every class from the high school go to visit isn't doing that!

OP posts:
Charlesroi · 04/02/2015 19:32

Jesus. Why don't they just take your daughter to the fucking zoo. At feeding time.