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?

£40k is plenty for a family depending on where you live. And don't forget that the national average is massively skewed by the top 1%.

Did no one notice that it is not a £40k salary, as such, but is dependent on the OP being able to go to work to earn her pay, which she was unable to do due to her child's unplanned illness, which she obviously could not budget for? Also, did no one notice the poster who works at a food bank so knows what they are talking about saying that as a one-off, OP could go to a food bank without a referral?
OP, if I were you, I'd go to the food bank if necessary, towards the end of the 10 days and then, as others have said, make a donation to them next month when you have more money at your disposal. (You've had loads of advice about buying cheap food and making it stretch, entertaining the children and budgeting for the future, so I'll stop at this!)

Could just be very high rent or mortgage payments. Nobody can say whether OP's longer term finances should be doable without knowing all the details.

You should be able to manage on that. Some things can be paid with your credit card, if you normally manage easily, when you don't have to take unpaid leave.

Of course that's not a good idea if you're going to need more unpaid leave to look after your son. If that's the case then you should be able to manage on just £30, or if you can't then maybe a friend could lend you some money (say £20) to tide you over.

I don't think you'll qualify for a food bank quite honestly.

did no one notice the poster who works at a food bank so knows what they are talking about saying that as a one-off, OP could go to a food bank without a referral?

It depends on the foodbank. Most are run by Trussell Trust and generally require a referral. Others are independent charities or run by churches or other groups and might have different rules.

I'm spending £30 a week at the moment and I have less than you do in the freezer. You'll be fine, lentils areally your friend.

Trouble with lentils is, you'll likely need more loo-roll

Depends on the Foodbank. With the trussell trust you absolutely can't turn up with no referral. No way.

£40k isn't bad but it's all relative. If the OP lives in Hull for example then yes, budgeting and saving should be easy. But if she's in the SE/London, it's absolutely nothing. It's not as simple as '£40k? That's loads!'. There doesn't have to be something else going on.

Having just a little extra cash would make a big difference.

Credit card?
Borrow from friends and family?

Facebook selling page? Lego, tools, playmobile, old baby equipment, bikes all sell well. Not sure if what else sells quickly. If you list things this morning you could sell them by this afternoon.

YABU. £30 is my normal budget for a week and I could stretch that to ten days with a carefully planned vegetarian diet.

Also Metro bank doesn't charge commission for your penny jar.

None of the big banks will charge you for paying in cash.

My foodbank didn't need referrals either. It was for people and families under 25.
I still can't get my head round people who seem to think that foodbanks are there just as a top up when they can actually afford things like beans on toast, eggs, potatoes, etc. I understand the OP may not be used to this kind of low budget shopping but there is plenty of information online to help out.
Sorry, OP, not really directed at you, I understand it was your friend's suggestion.

Assuming that you have some stuff in your cupboard you can:

Cook lentils with diced tomato and potato's with one of those lamb joints diced in them.

A meal of beans on toast.

A meal of home made pancakes. Your kids will like it :)

A spanish tortilla made with potatoes and eggs. Serve with cheap veg.

One or more meals of pasta with veg (think tomato based, with broccoli and cheese if you still have some cheese)

If you have flour you can make chapatis and fill them with veg. Do you have some kerrie?

Oatmeel porridge (the cheapest you can find) is a very cheap and healthy breakfast. You can add cheap fruit like apples for the vitamins.

Lunch is cheap bread with the cheapest spread that you can find.

Meal plan very carefully and search for the cheapest products. It will be a bit bland but can be healthy.

If you can tell us the exact contents of your pantry we can help you plan some cheap meals.

noeffingidea It's mainly Trussell Trust foodbanks which require a referral.

Aldi is brilliant. Pasta is 29p a bag, rice 60p for the boil in the bag, tins 20 odd pence. £30 will go far in there.

Yes of course you make do. You have plenty of food in with those joint of lamb etc. Lamb is not a cheap meat! How big are the joints? If each were a kilo then surely that is at least 2 days per joint for hungry people. That is 6 days right there.

I just don't believe your situation is that dire. Did you pay for the oven outright or on credit? You don't have an overdraft that you could go into for a few days? Or just buy a few frozen pizzas for a couple of quid each? Beans on toast?!

Lots of people could find themselves a bit short at the end of the month for one reason or another but that is no reason to use a food bank which is meant for people who are really, really struggling all the time.

I am thankful that really poor people have less stigma to overcome and will hopefully feel less ashamed of being poor and "accepting charity" and that this means they are more liekly to seek help - but I am if these changing attitudes mean that people who regularly have enough also now think that they can happily accept charity too. Not you OP, but your friend.

I also donate and support several charities despite being on a much lower income than you and I would be outraged to think I was supporting people more wealthy than me. I'd lend you something or give you some pasta but I'd expect it back next month because you can afford it.

Equally if you were truly poor I'd give you whatever I could spare.

FFS - Low on food is not having 3 joints of lamb in the freezer!

Yes, in theory you could get some food and give more back when you have the money, but the reality is that the food bank supply is not unlimited and you will be taking the food NOW from someone who needs it more.

Check if any of the local church's, chapels, synagogues, etc have a food bank, then get your ass to one. It doesn't matter if everyone else has a magic mn chicken, that can stretch to you and a street full of neighbours, and you live in a mansion. Some of the locally run food banks are run to help those that 'fall between the cracks', in other words, those that work but hit a difficult time, as well as those in long term difficulties. As a previous poster said, you can then pay it back. If a person is used to having a regular income, then hit a difficult time, they may not know how to make that money stretch. You don't learn that 'skill' overnight.

OP went out and bought a bloody new oven! Of course she's short. She couldn't afford it.

She should have waited and saved. I've lived weeks with no washing machine and another time I had a cooker which had a working hob but no oven.

We ate things from the hob! I didn't spend all my money on a new oven when I would then have bugger all to cook in it!

Apart from three legs of lamb.

I am smiling slightly at only having three lamb joints in the freezer.....OP, you have NO idea. Never mind about your oven, you can cook adequately in a microwave...we've done it for eight weeks during renovation

Pasta
baked spuds
go to butcher and get hough for £2, that will make a very tasty lentil soup
Go to Tesco and get reduced bread, freeze it, its usually 30p
Even better if youre near a waitrose, go there last thing, and freeze what you can

I wouldn't have spent on the oven either

Microwaves BBQ slow cooker etc can be easier to cook with than no food!

Sound like you need to plan your finances better

Yes it's true that there are nurses who have to use food banks in London. If it's the easiest way to get through a tough time there's no harm than asking for help at a food bank. It sounds like a one-off.

As has been suggested you can help at one at a later date if you're struggling with the idea of going there for help.

povertypain but if a person is unused to being hard up (and then they are very fortunate if that is the case) then they have to learn that skill make the money stretch by stretching it - not being bailed out by charity when they don't really need it.

Anyone can buy cheaper food or look on the internet and work it out "overnight". If they aren't capable of this - how in earth do they hold down a job that enables them to have never been poor?

Pig she's already BOUGHT the oven. That's why she's in a mess.

I find it really unlikely that the OP doesn't have a ring/chain or other random piece of jewellery, that she can't pawn for £30 to double her money for the next 10 days.

Food banks should be a last resort, not a first.