A loaf and a block of cheese is not lunch for ten days THREAD 2

[ZazieSheHer]

A loaf and a block of cheese is not lunch for ten days ORIGINAL THREAD

pictures of the fsm lunch boxes on twitter

I simply can't understand why people aren't furious that taxpayers money is being wasted in this way.

Whether you could feed your child on the content of the box or whether you think that fsm's should be issued in the first place is irrelevant/ a distraction.

The only issue is whether when there is a chunk of taxpayers money apportioned to solve a particular problem (feeding children), do you think that the money, minus reasonable costs, should be spent on the children or do you think that a private company should be making a considerable profit off your tax money?

There is no other issue here.

I am astounded at the percentage of people in this country who would see their taxes line the pockets of a private company than be used to address the problem it is apportioned to.

That is aside for the issue of Chartwell and it's Tory connections.

Shocking.

I don't buy this overheads bullshit, sure if you make it private business but you could reduce this significantly by pairing with local charities/Trussell trust/Barnardos so at least the aim won't be profit. Absolutely disgusting

I was brought up in a broken home in the 70s, one of three. Brought up on benefits . Ive paid the state back many times over for bringing me up. Not once did we go without food ,rent paid,energy bills paid.

Its all about management and husbandry.

I'm glad this spotlight had been shone on these ruthless catering companies.
Just shows the mark up and I hope everyone looks to check the value of them

The fact some people on here think what is being delivered to children in these food hampers is acceptable shows just how far removed from reality you really are.

How on earth can children be expected to feed themselves for 5 days (bearing in mind for the likes of Chartwells this was originally for 10 days until they backtracked) on this- for some, the only meal they will eat that day- and continue home learning.

I’d support making direct cash payments into the parent’s bank account rather than these insulting parcels. More dignified and practical. Yes a small minority may abuse it but why are we making policies around the problems with a small minority rather than around the majority.

@VinylDetective

'Errr, no. Pensioners who receive financial support in their old age do so because they choose not to save for retirement during their lifetime

The pension issue is muddying the water but I can’t let this go unchallenged. Poor pensioners don’t choose not to save for their retirement, they can’t afford to. They didn’t suddenly get poor at pension age, they’ve always been poor. It’s astonishing how many people live in Ivory towers.'

Agree completely and was just about to post the same point

I try not to stalk threads toooo much. However, for those who still think that this is all morally OK, I'd like to present a slightly different/minority perspective in addition to my previous one...

DH and I work alternate shifts because of the cost of childcare. We do not qualify for any help beyond the 15 hours after the age of three, for various small print/administrative reasons.

I look after my kids during the day, and work and do the housework at night. I do not get time off for recreation/hobbies etc.

A few weeks ago, I filled out my tax return and sent off a large sum of money to HMRC. That is several hours of my life which I will never get back. It's a lot of money I will never get back, either.

I do not begrudge someone using that money (earned through MY efforts) to send a food parcel to a child from a poor family. What I do resent is some greedy f-ing CEO who probably earns more whilst he takes a poo at work than I do in a week creaming MY MONEY off the top, and sending out a food parcel like the ones we are discussing whilst pocketing the rest of the cash. I EARNED that money. It was supposed to be used WISELY. It was not supposed to pay for some top earner's brandy and cigars.

For anyone who thinks this is still somehow acceptable, consider these words whilst you send off your online tax return before the 31st of January...

It’s the half a loaf of bread, tuna in a money bag, half a pepper I can’t get over - who with a shred of humanity stood and cut up a tomato and put it in a bag thinking “this’ll do a child for lunch”.

Focusing on should they exist at all is missing the point i think. Yes ideally parents would feed their kids but for various reasons some families need a bit of help, and personally I dont want kids going hungry. If free meals helps with that then its a good use of tax psyer money. These rubbish packs theyve been sending out are a waste though, I don't want my taxes lining the pockets of some already rich tory donor when the money should be spent on providing more substantial meals to kids! Consider also normally the free meal would be as good as a main meal of the day, not a light lunch, and some kids don't get much else if the family circumstances are dire enough so there's a good reason for this being a big meal! Kids also learn better when they aren't hungry.

I'm also one of the parents who is receiving FSM for DD, single parent for 9 years but I've always worked full time. Then I was made redundant during the first lockdown so now I'm struggling financially and claiming UC.
My income has dropped substantially but my energy bills have gone up massively and my rent which used to be 40% of my income is now 58%.
I am very grateful for currently getting FSM but would never have anticipated that I would need to through no fault of my own.

@CrotchBurn
Presumably the child is also having breakfast, a snack in the afternoon and their tea, right? So what's the big deal?
Many children go to school without having breakfast, many children do not eat tea - you presume wrongly. I work at a local food bank, I have a relative who is a teacher in a deprived inner city school and another who is a child protection social worker. If you are not outraged at child hunger in Britain in 2021 then there is something wrong with you as a human being.

How low can you get when profit is gained from depriving hungry children? Surely the supermarkets could do a better job at a fair price. Looking at the photos posted and accepting that £30 per head is correct I can only assume that there is some kind of fiddle going on.

Sorry @Arnoldthecat are you saying that you're grateful for the support of the state growing up to ensure you were always fed etc or that people receiving state support now just need to manage their money better?

I think it's difficult to compare state support now to the 70s anyway, the cost of living was lower then and benefits were more generous I believe. Rent was a lower proportion of household spending and there were more council houses available.

I am in receipt of one of these food boxes. Yesterday the term “beggars cant be choosers” was used and honestly I have never felt so utterly rubbish and insulted in all my life. It’s degrading. I feel like a failure as a parent because it’s “my fault” according to a lot of folk, I sure as hell hope that nobody on here falls on hard times through no fault of their own and requires the charity of degrading hand outs to help them out a little.

I didn’t choose to be a single parent. My ex made that choice for me. I didn’t choose to suddenly require a major internet packages, to heat my house fully all day every day or to pull 3 laptops out of my arse with zero warning as well as all the extras required.

One thing I find baffling is that schools and business were given zero notice and expect to magic up all the solutions yet the government have had 2 weeks at least now to put a voucher system that was previously used back in place and they can’t manage it.

I 100 percent think they are not worth 30.00 and agree this needs to change.
I also am a little against the voucher issue or hanker box for all free school meal children. They should be for those really in need and then maybe we could increase the amount they get instead of giving the vouchers to every FSM child regardless if they would have food on the table without them.

@Whattheactual20201 how do you police that though???? I put on a very good front myself, I don’t think you would ever look at me or my kids and think we were poor and struggling to make ends meat, who had the right to define what that looks like??? There is so much shame brought with being poor. If I had to ask for the help or prevent a case I’d likely not do it because I would be too ashamed and embarrassed to?

Present a case*

Its all about management and husbandry

You are SO right! Next time you are face-to-face with a hungry child just tell them that! So wise.

I hate the attitude of 'you shouldn't have children unless you can pay for them'. People whose circumstances change aside, even if you are on a low income, society should support you to have children and if necessary provide financial help. After all, we will all benefit in the future. (Where would the doctors, nurses, shop workers come from if no-one had children?) We all benefit in the long term.
Fwiw I think the boxes are insulting, and vouchers or direct payments into bank accounts would be better.

I am quite prepared to admit i am srong here, but i think this is all about political point scoring and middle-class outrage on other people's behalf.
The vast majority of children in receipt of free school meals are in perfectly functional family set-ups, living in standard homes. Their parent(s) are on low incomes.
ALL of the families i know whose children recieve free school meals would be horrified at the assumption that they do not feed their child in the evening.
Why do people keep on pushing this narrative of mum fleeing domestic abuse in one room of a hostel with shared kitchen?
Why are so keen to assume low-income families cannot cook and have no pots, pans or utensils?
It's patronising and insulting, but then why miss a chance to have another go at the Government by showing how understanding and clever you are?
Can someone please poibt me in the direction of three pieces of evidence, which i suspect do not exist but upon which this whole argument has built up:
1 The food parcel was supposed to contain £30 of food
2 The food parcel was to last 10 days
3 The tin of tuna was really divided into money bags by the caterer

1 The food parcel was supposed to contain £30 of food
2 The food parcel was to last 10 days
3 The tin of tuna was really divided into money bags by the caterer

The vouchers these parcels replaced were for £30 and ten days duration. There is pictorial evidence from several sources of the bagged tuna. HTH.

I hate the line 'beggars can't be choosers' it is basically saying people with limited funds don't deserve anything half decent. Times are really hard especially for families and decent food should be a priority to ensure children's health and wellbeing.

09:26usedandabusedx1000

Your post should be magnified and plastered all over the news, you have reduced me to tears. Your children are lucky to have you.,X

Christalive how can the fifth richest country in the world treat it's citizens like this?
I wonder how many of the morons happily lining the pockets of millionaires said we should stop foruegn aid and help our own?