Does anyone know someone who has had to use a foodbank?

[furryjammies]

I'm very lucky that I have never been unemployed - although at times, especially when the kids were young we hardly had any money and I had to be really careful, buying huge bags of potatoes and cooking everything from scratch to save money - no holidays, nights out etc. I don't know anyone who is living in poverty, although I do know some who got heavily into debt - mostly because of going on lavish holidays etc. Do any of you have friends who have had to rely on a foodbank and if so, what were the reasons? Not judging at all just wondering how common it is.

I'm just wondering how common food poverty is in this country. Can I honestly not ask a question to try and get a better understanding?

Let me Google that for you .....

I do but I'm not going to share details so people can judge as is pretty awful and nobody's business, folk who have to use foodbanks feel fucking awful about it and don't need a morally superior judge

Ilovesooty i was struggling to say in words the unease i felt by the OPs request, but you've said it perfectly.

AsleepAllDay I wasn't aware of that, that's why I was asking. There but for the grace of God go any of us I suppose.

Yes, a colleague (a nurse), injured at work and hadn't worked for long enough to have much sick pay. So she got statutory sick pay which is very low and couldn't pay the mortgage or buy food.

Volunteer to help out at a foodbank OP

daisychain01 - I can Google statistics but does it tell you the reasons?

Thanks daisychain01

Yes I know people who do need help from food banks once in a while. And not quite the same but basically, I had to rely on a box of essentials when I first moved into refuge with my kids as I didn’t have much money to live on before my benefits were sorted. Pretty common in that scenario.

Food bank use is through the roof, ask anyone who has connections to them. There are loads of different organisations who feed those in need where I live. One of the food banks usually take Easter eggs donations from my kid’s school every year but this year they asked for basics instead of eggs. Why? Pure desperation- they need all the essentials they can get. Anything frivolous like Easter eggs for children has been cut.

Not being funny, but you must realise this is the case from watching the news/reading the news the past few years? Austerity has been devastating.

Yes. Me.

But why do you need to know the reasons?

I'm not aware of any body I know using them, to be honest I'd be feeding them myself if I got wind a friend of mine was in such difficulty.

@IJustDontLikeGin none of my business but I wouldn’t expand on anything if I were you.

Joseph rowntree website probably has some interesting info op

Not me, but she didn't get paid. Lived payday to payday anyway (no lavish holidays there) but her wages didn't go through and had no food and 2 kids to feed. When her wages came through a few days later she returned the unused food.

But why do you need to know the reasons?
^ exactly. Surely it’s obvious. Poverty. They can’t afford to eat. No one deserves to starve no matter the reason they ended up with no money to eat.

Seriously, OP. Even if you lived in a bubble of privilege, surely you occasionally glance at a newspaper, or fall over a homeless person in your way into Starbucks?

Yes. We had to use a foodbank last year. We had two massive unexpected expenses in one month and paying them left us with nothing. We have no savings so had to ask for a referral to the food bank. We both work full time.

The really sad thing is that 10- 15 years ago not many people had heard about food banks in this country.

How times change.

No I don’t but I think reasons would be quite obvious. Little/ no income - children to feed. Difficulty obtaining benefits. Homeless people. People on minimum wage jobs and high rent/ mortgage or a family to support. Redundancy, single parents, elderly people on low pensions, disabled people - particularly in winter with higher bills to pay etc.

OP I typed "why do people need to use Food Banks?"

Top of the list was:

fullfact.org/economy/why-are-more-people-using-food-banks/

Are you really so insensitive that you don't get that people shouldn't need to expose themselves or their family members just for your curiosity. You might not know who they are, but it feels exposing saying the words. Have some humanity.

Thanks everyone who has commented - I think I will give a donation to the foodbank during the week. My kids aren't in school any more but do schools ask kids for tins or something to be taken in? They used to always do this for harvest festival and the Church gave out boxes to the elderly.

What the hell has it to do with you? What a goady sneering thread

Very distastefully worded OP.

She wants to know why they had no money, evidently.