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?

Go if you need to, then when you can, make a generous donation back to them. It's there to help people in all situations and judging people for using it doesn't help.

Can you ask for an advance of wages?

I agree with most of the PPs, OP it might be unpleasant but it'll be a lesson learned.

I would consider starting an 'emergency fund' in a separate savings account if you can (you only really need to put a tiny amount in from each paycheck & it builds up quickly). This has saved me quite a few times when something's popped up and I needed a little extra $$.

Granted that's not going to help you in your current situation, maybe this site may help, as it's designed for a similar situation?
www.thehungerproject.org.uk/getinvolved/live-below-the-line/live-below-the-line-recipes/
Best of luck OP

Every single day for the last mnoth I have gathered blackberries to eat.

Ahhh, 'let them eat blackberries' on a foodbank thread. That takes me back I'm also loving the suggestion that OP is probably fat so it would do her good to survive on one meal a day. Nice touch.

I don't think foodbanks exist to cover people who've 'overspent trying to keep the kids entertained'. I'm sorry you're struggling a bit but that's not really what foodbanks are for.

I'd eat sandwiches and cereals for the next 3 weeks to be honest.
Food banks are for the poor. Not the poor at budgeting. Unless you have learning difficulties then being poor at budgeting isn't a great excuse.
You probably need to get a credit card in this situation, or borrow 50 quid from a friend.
The food bank probably won't let you use them on a 40k salary.

Ridiculous!

I'm not sure if you are the poster who posted about you oven being broken recently and lots of us made recommendations including just using a portable one or two ring hob (@ £20) or an inexpensive mini oven.

You also posted in March about being skint so it seems like this might be an ongoing problem with managing money rather than a blip IYSWIM It might be worth looking at MoneySavingExpert for more detailed budgeting information.

In the meantime how about selling a few itemquickly on a local Facebook page.

OP, if you can get a referral, and you feel really stressed and worried about this, please go to the food bank. There is absolutely no shame in doing so. And then when you can, once you are the ok, donate some food back.

This isn't really 'struggling', it's just being a bit skint at the end of the month. Completely normal for many people. If everyone who was a bit short at the end of the month used foodbanks there would be nothing left over for those people who really need them.
Re entertaining the kids, there's no need to continually spend money. If it's nice weather a trip to the park or a paddling pool in the garden (if you have one) will suffice. If it's raining then DVD's/netflix, reading books, colouring in or crafts keeps them entertained.

I'm sure you could manage woth £30.
Grab some rice, bread, cheese, ham, pasta, mince, few tins of tomatoes and beans, some baking potatoes (from Aldi or similar)

You have some lamb already so lamb curry, lamb mixed with rice and herbs like a type of biryani, sandwiches cheese on toast for lunch, fish fingers and mash, jacket pots with beans and cheese, beans on toast, pasta with ham cheese and beans mixed in.

It would be do able maybe not haute cuisine but if you are sensible and buy cheap bulky food you should be ok.

I really don't think you should use a food bank unless you literally have nothing. You really need to at least try and see how far you can stretch the £30 and leftover food you already have.

One leg of lamb- roast dinner, lamb stew and lamb chilli. Buy a large chicken- roast dinner, curry and chicken soup. Buy a big tray of cheap eggs- frittata, egg, baked beans and chips, boiled egg and soldiers. Fish fingers, chips and baked beans. That's 10 evening meals. 2 loaves for sandwiches/toast, cheese, ham, cereal, milk and fruit for breakfasts and lunches. 20 quid should easily cover it if you stick to a list. This leaves you with 10 for a top up shop for fresh bread, milk, salad etc.

Food banks are not just for 'the poor' they are for anybody who is experiencing a financial crisis that means they can't afford food in the short term. OP would likely be declined because of the £30 she has, not the salary she is on. Food banks would never recommend people go into debt. They would encourage OP to get budgeting advice though.

I am involved with a food bank and we are really over stretched at the moments with families who normally manage with breakfast clubs/ free school meals. It is a horrible feeling being broke but you are not really 'food poor' with £30.

My husband always insists on having 3 months wages as emergency savings. I often argue that they should be used for our holiday or other luxuries but he insists that it's there for dire situations only. If you are on £40000 household income it shouldn't take too long to build up your emergency fund.

First of all there is no shame in going to a food bank and whoop de fucking do for those posters above who earn 'significantly less' and still wouldn't dream of using a food bank. Brilliant. Martyrdom. Nobody loves a martyr.

Nevertheless you may be able to manage on £30, lentils, pasta and rice are your friend. There are recipes online. Batch cook etc. Can your friend lend you a tenner also? You can do it. I am sorry you're in this situation. I have been there. And you never know when any of us will be again. Good luck.

Blackberries on a food bank thread...looks back wistfully to when it were all fields round 'ere.

You have three joints of meat plus extra bits and £30 cash it's doable.
Can you get two dinners for your family out of the joint of meat because that would be six days of dinners.

The food bank in our area does bags with a week worth of meals. Even if they couldn't help, they would direct you to some other support.

I think you've had some harsh responses on here OP. However no I don't think you should use a food bank. It'll be a bit tight but I think you could stretch £30 for 10 days, especially if you already have enough lamb in the freezer for 3 meals. Go to Aldi / Lidi and Iceland. Stock up on some cheap basics for breakfast / lunches - some cornflakes, milk, bread, cheap ham / cheese and apples. Get some pasta and potatoes, along with some frozen veg and some cheap bits from Iceland like frozen sausages and you should be able to stretch something out. It won't be very exciting and there won't be many 'treats', but you'll all survive.
Some tips:

1. If you're worried about fruit intake I'd advise maybe going into Tesco a few times to get milk or similar as they offer free fruit to kids so the kids can have a piece of fruit as they go round.
2. Maybe see if the kids can go to a friends for tea once this week and you can offer to do the same for your kids friends the following week after payday.
3. Once the kids are in bed pop to your local shop in the hour before closing and check out the 'reduced to clear' section in Asda / Tesco. Often they literally have stuff reduced to a few pence in the evening, and often it's stuff that's fine for a day or two, or can be frozen.

40k for a family isn't much, it's way below the national average. Can either of you progress at work?

As others have suggested, there must be something else going on here for a family on 40k to be this skint and low on food.

The op has already said that she took unpaid time off which was unavoidable but there has to be something else. Do you need to learn budgeting skills? Is there debt that's needs to be looked at asap? Is there a member of your family that spends money like water so any efforts you make to save are pointless? Do you have a contingency fund for emergencies?

£30 plus what you have left will do you for 10 days , it'll be smartprice beans on toast or pasta and cheap sauce for dinner but nobody will starve. The most concerning things are the spending choices and prioritising your family do.

Use the next ten days of frugality to think about why you ended up here and what you can do to avoid this.

But yes go to the food bank. A bag if stuff will make a big difference. Donate a bag back when times are better

What 2014 said. I could manage 10days but it would be a struggle, if you cant use one but when you get chance return the favour

If you earn over 40 thousand pounds, surely you can put a tiny shop on a credit card or use 50 pounds of an overdraft or something?

If not, have you thought about pawning a bit of jewellery until payday? The interest wouldn't be that much.