Should I use a food bank in my situation?

[Lionking1981]

I am 200 pounds down on my normal wages this month due to taking unpaid parental leave when my Dd was ill. Overspent the first week of the month trying to occupy the kids. Then my oven broke and had to replace it. Been living out the freezer and store cupboard since. To cut the story short, I now have 30 pounds to survive 10 days til payday. I have 3 small joints of lamb in the freezer, a box
of waffles and some fish fingers. A few tins of baked beans, tomatoes and soup in cupboard.

My friend says to go to the foodbank but I am super uncomfortable about it. We earn over 40k between us and i don't think food banks are there for people like us but it is going to be really hard to feed a family of 4 on this. However, we will be fine next month. Would you just make do for the 10 days?

I know this is not the situation but - Imagine if the OP didn't have £30 and didn't have any food in her freezer or cupboards. Poor credit history so unable to get a CC, already at OD limit, no friends or family who she could ask for help. Would people really be prepared to see her children go hungry because she should have budgeted better?

Supposing things had happened in a different order - she spent on holiday treats for the DC thinking she could afford it, then the cooker broke and she thought she could replace it and just about manage, then her child was unwell and she ended up £200 down because of unpaid leave. Would she be deserving enough then?

Food banks were never meant as long term support for anybody, in or out of work. They're not supposed to be a benefit top-up for the poorest. They are there to provide short term, emergency help for people who, for a variety of reasons, find themselves unable to buy food for themselves or their family.

Trussell Trust have just published a big report on food bank use, so all those who have been put off donating can have a read and decide whether they think the recipients are worthy enough or not. Around 1 in 6 households had at least one adult in work, although this was usually p/t and/or insecure.

Am I being dense here?Be frugal and use your credit card then sit down and work out your budget for next month and start saving.On 4000 you should be able to be comfortable.

In which case, generally speaking, using a credit card is not a great idea because it is actually making someone with little money have even less money

Yet if you don't have one, what do you do in emergencies if you need more than you have in savings? You'd be looking at rip off payday loans or - in extremis - DSS crisis funds.

Good post Pencils.

@Hotheadwheresthecoldbath, I agree. We all have months when we have more expenses and that's precisely what credit cards and overdrafts are for, if you have a job and normally live within your means, became then you can be careful the following month. Not a good idea if you're going to risk getting into more debt.

This thread has only confirmed to me what I already suspected about foodbanks. That some people's ideas of being in poverty and need are entirely different from mine. Which is a great shame because I am sure there are people using foodbanks who are in genuine need of food.

Food banks are not just there for all the scroungers, who smoke, drink and gamble their benefits away and then expect to rely on charity to support their family. They are also for people who have fallen on hard times despite their income and occupation. So yes why not go for it and use them.

Me too, Vivienne. This thread has really shocked me. I thought that people using food banks were on benefits, had been sanctioned, literally couldn't get food etc.

We are having a very cheap month as we are decreasing freezer contents ,with those and stuff from the cupboards I am only buying milk and veg.
Do most people who have a freezer only have a few items?

Yabu food banks aren't there to compensate people who've spent their food budget on children's days out

Well plenty of people who earn less and donate to food banks won't be doing so in future

Sorry but I'm not working to support people on more than twice my salary

I'm sure £30 could stretch. A big sack or two of pasta for a couple of quid, a big sack of spuds (used to make chips, mash, baked potato, roast potatoes)- I can get a huge sack of them at my local fruit and veg shop for £7 and I live in an expensive area so you may find you can get them cheaper.

You can get a huge tray of chicken breasts for £10 in Iceland and it averages at about 10 decent sized breasts in a pack.

Aldi value bread is 45p- it does go stale quickly though so leave in the freezer and defrost in the microwave as needed. UHT milk instead of fresh.

Well, Serf Terf etc, it's easy to label people as "mean" because this thread has put them off donating to food banks. I earn considerably less than the OP and donate every Thursday at my local Tesco. No more. I want donations to help people that need them, I don't think that's mean.

how in the name of buggery has OP managed to get down to her last £30 on a 40k family income? Regardless of one month reduction! If you aren't able to set aside emergency 'rainy day' money on that sort of salary there's something seriously wrong with your spending habits. What happens when the car randomly packs in or the boiler breaks? You should really be more financially careful and responsible with children dependant on your having some sort of grip on your situation. Food banks are not there for people earning £40k combined. And seriously, £30 is absolutely enough for 10 days food shop. Do some internet research and make it work, you have a family to take care of.

What on earth gives you that impression vivienne et al? The majority of people here have confirmed that the OP is not the standard person who would go to a Foodbank, and probably shouldn't. So why would it put you off?

A lot of the suggestions re very cheap eating would have been considered normal 50 years ago! If you could afford meat, that was comfortable. I think this departure from frugality and the modern abundant nature of consumption have given a completely distorted view on poverty. People talk about how hard it is now to survive but I think it we are better off than we ever have been, we just expect such high living standards. Even when I was a child it was 3 basic simple meals a day made from raw ingredients, one pair of shoes per child, 2 changes of clothes (often hand me downs) maybe a week by the coast a year, one tv per household being the norm for gadgets, I remember people asking if you were 'on the phone' .... now people consider themselves hard up if they only have one car! Op I think you'd do well to try and survive on £10 for a few days using really basic ingredients. You'll be amazed what it is possible to live on when you return to true basics. If you become desperate go to the food bank and then be sure to return what you receive after pay day.

I can't believe my query would put people off donating. I have already agreed that i do not fit the criteria. I have asked for the thread to be removed and I will be donating to my local food bank next month when normality resumes.

Not rtfd, but like others I live on less than op and contribute to food banks. Rather than scrounging from them so I can buy new appliances and have treats with my own income. £30 will buy a shit load of aldi potatoes and other cheap basics, and lots of people have such low incomes they feed themselves on similar all the time without the benefit of ops luxury spending.

I will still be contributing though, as like anything there will always be a minority who take the piss and food banks shouldn't become yet another area the genuine majority suffer because of the greed of a minority. And I beg everyone else to continue too.

Removing your support from food banks because a minority abuse them? Hope you can all sleep at night with the knowledge that demand spikes over the summer because for some children the free school meal is the only proper meal in the day. Food banks stop children (children actually in real need not OP's kids!) from going without and being hungry. You'd have to be hard of heart in the extreme to stop donations because a mumsnet thread got your back up.

Choosing to give up donating to food banks because some (and probably a small minority) of the people the food bank decides should be supported doesn't meet the very exacting criteria you decide is at the very least daft, if not mean.

And makes no sense if the reason you are giving to food banks is to support those you consider most in need.

Reducing the amount of food there is to donate means that the people you want to support don't get any support either.

I helped a friend get a food bank referral when they were without money for 2 months due to a problem with universal credit
Even then they were only allowed 2 parcels of 3 days worth of food and also got £20 electricity credit to cook it
What they were supposed to do for the rest if they were alone I've no idea
I don't have much spare myself but paid their rent, all bills and did 2 supermarket shops for them
Hopefully it would be returned by someone if I ever needed it myself as the system is badly lacking especially for single adults