And now we have food banks . . .

[longwayoff]

Just saw Lenny Henry reminiscing 30 years of Comic Relief. And, as he said,if you'd told him then he'd be here years later raising money for food banks in the UK he would have refused to believe it. Quite rightly, me too. We're still one if the wealthiest countries in the world. Why aren't we more ashamed of this disgraceful development?

[dangermouseisace]

BMW6

a lot of people have piss poor budgeting skills

I volunteered for citizens advice. You can have the best budgeting skills in the UK, but if you don’t actually have enough income to actually exist on, then food banks/debt become a necessity. Often people had gone without for a long time before they came to us. It’s not like people encounter a little bit of hardship and go looking for handouts, usually people are absolutely desperate before they are offered a food bank voucher. I say offer, because people usually didn’t ask.

[BloggersNet]

Yes let's blame the poor, and the government from 10 years ago! Who else is to blame? The disabled, for sure, dreadful scroungers the lot of them. Single moms are to blame as well, should've picked a better partner. Anyone with a low salary, should've worked harder you lazy bums.

[Awwlookatmybabyspider]

It's 1000% correct. I'd does absolutely stink that certain people including those who are working have to rely on food banks in the 21st Century, and that Haunted Victorian Pencil Tory Toff calls them uplifting. .

[AskingQuestionsAllTheTime]

NameChangeNugget Food banks were certainly around in the 1970’s.

In most of the 1960s there were more jobs than people to do them in much of the country, so justabout anyone could get a job, and (paradox alert) students could get a grant for term-times and sign on to the dole in the vacations. I suspect there was not much need for food banks in the 1960s. They are a twenty-first century development.

(Well, they were around in America from 1967 onwards, but not in the UK.)

As far as I can make out, both of the first two actual food banks in the UK existed in 2004. The Trussell Trust wasn't founded until 1997, and they were running those two.

But see also www.foodpoverty.org.uk/food-banks/history/ which seems to suggest they really got going until 2007, under Labour. Blair, in other words, as a pp said.

[anniehm]

The reality is that people have always fallen through the cracks, once upon a time communities helped each other without formal structure and soup kitchens were also common in poorer areas. During the later part of the 20th century this began to break down as people moved away from their families and support structures and this has resulted in the need for charities to formally be established to provide this support (though the Salvation Army was helping low income families where I lived in the 80's and 90's, we just didn't call it a food bank).

Is it right? Well it would be better if nobody needed assistance but the reality is some people will always have a short term need - perhaps an unexpected bill, or relationship breakdown, plus some people struggle to budget - I had a neighbour who every fortnight asked to borrow £10, yet on her benefits day would pop round with the money with a large glass of wine in her hand, telling me it was 3 bottles for £12, if just one fortnight she went without wine she wouldn't be short! (She also could work on not being rude to her employers, and turning up to work on time, two of the reasons she lost jobs)

[longwayoff]

WE HAVE NOT ALWAYS HAD FOOD BANKS. To say otherwise is simply propaganda.

[BMW6]

dangermouse
But if some of your clients didn't have enough to live on, why was that?

There are questions to be asked surely?

Are they living in an affordable area?
Example - my income is £1000 pm. Can I afford to live in an area commanding a rent or mortgage over £500 pm - No.

[HennyPennyHorror]

The reason Lenny is having to raise funds for it is because the problem has grown so much.

There was not the need for as many foodbanks in the past...yes, we've always had them but not on this scale.

[HennyPennyHorror]

Long I think people mean, we've always had a version of them..."always" being after the industrial revolution.

[Alsohuman]

People don't have enough money for all sorts of reasons. If you lose your job are you supposed to just up sticks and move somewhere cheaper? How do you suggest sometimes does that? Moves their kids' school, finds a cheaper place with no deposit. All this glib nonsense from people talking out of their arses.

[AskingQuestionsAllTheTime]

The Poor House? Or just handouts from monasteries?

[Justanotherlurker]

The Food banks that we have today, are the direct result of Austerity

They didn't exist under labour then, maybe I've been fooled by propoganda and we now get into partisan arguments.

It's because of neolibralirasim, the same neolibralirasim that the EU follows, also the same situation where the previous labour government actively hid the use of food banks...

[BMW6]

I recall being asked at school in the 60's to donate tinned food and unwanted toys and clothing to the needy.

So the donated food must have gone to some kind of food bank for distribution surely?

[Alsohuman]

Hid them? Where? How? We didn't need food banks, people on benefits were treated like human beings not sanctioned at the drop of a hat.

[HennyPennyHorror]

There were soup kitchens by the dozen in Dickens' time. Since there's been industrialisation there have been willing, middle class women trying to feed those in need.

Not on the same scale as we have today though.

[BloggersNet]

So people may disagree on whether or not we had foodbanks or the reason behind them but we all seem in agreement that the need for them has grown massively. Some may think that's acceptable, I personally don't.

[Alsohuman]

Dickens died 150 years ago, one would hope society might have advanced since then, not gone backwards.

[IamFrauBlucher]

I don't remember food banks in the 80's, but I do remember when I had my Saturday job in a supermarket people would come with a yellow letter from the DSS with an amount they could spend at the supermarket and a list as to what they could not spend it on. Do they not exist anymore? (I've been out of the UK for years now).

[Backwoodsgirl]

We have austerity because previous governments over spent. British people are so spoilt, they expect their government to provide everything these days. People make irresponsible lifestyle choices and expect higher earning tax payers to pay for it and pay for themselves and pay of historic debt. It’s not ok to make yourself dependant on government handouts and then complain when you aren’t given enough.

Tax is theft

[CurbsideProphet]

I've worked in the charity sector for 3 years. What's perhaps a more recent development than the rise of food banks is charities giving out supermarket vouchers to those in extreme crisis, as a lot of Trussell Trust food banks will only accept 2 referrals "per crisis".

[cakeisalwaystheanswer]

There are food banks in most of the worlds biggest economies including the USA. 3.5 million people in France rely on food banks and 1.5 million a week use them in Germany. And there is just as much poor baiting in Germany as there is here (see link below). I hope most of us would agree that they shouldn't be necessary but it isn't just us getting our priorities wrong.


www.thelocal.de/20180312/no-one-in-germany-would-go-hungry-if-food-banks-didnt-exist

[Bouchie]

I've worked in the homeless sector for 20 years. settled people did not rely on food banks, crisis loans existed. there were far less homeless people and far better support services.Not perfect but better. we should hang our heads in shame. The media and politicians have done a right good job of making the poorest in society the focus of being benefit cheats etc whilst they scrape off more and more at the top.

[marvellousnightforamooncup]

Quite right Bouchie.