Food banks

[Parker231]

www.trusselltrust.org/get-involved/ways-to-give/donate-food/

Posted in AIBU for traffic.

I’m a volunteer at a local foodbank. We are getting desperately short of donations and run the risk of not being able to help those who need it.
I’ve attached the link to search for what your local foodbank needs (everyone is different as to what stocks they have). If you are doing your shopping tomorrow, it would be very helpful if you could add a couple of items for the foodbank. Thank you

We’ve been trying to build up our stocks but demand has increased significantly. Many are working people but for one reason or another need, hopefully short term help.
A local sweet company has been very generous and we’re making up parcels for parents to give children at Christmas. We’re putting them in Christmas paper so any children around when they visit the foodbank can’t see the surprise they will get on Christmas Day. It doesn’t help with food poverty but at least the children will get sweets on Christmas Day like other children.

@YoungGiftedPlump Sorry you had a bad experience with one TT food bank.

There is no judgment at the one I work at. A volunteer with that attitude would be asked to leave.

While a referral is ideal, as it means the client is hopefully getting additional support, we can and do take self-referrals. We would try to signpost them to other appropriate agencies/charities in subsequent contacts.

@TheWayTheLightFalls We recognise the UC delay etc and do not stop food parcels at three. Discretion and pragmatism is allowed. TT campaigned hard to #keepthelifeline

To keep fighting the corner TT foodbanks are franchises. This means that each individual bank is its own charity run by its own set of trustees. It is these trustees that make the rules regarding religion and indeed number of parcels available to a household.

Our TT franchise sees the parcel limit - which I think is currently at 6 - as a limit "per crisis" and treats each new crisis as a new beginning. We do monitor those who appear week in week out, and will work with anyone who has repeatedly turned up to work out why they need to be there. If there is a defined crisis time frame- for example a change from benefits to a job with salary delays, then we will agree a pla to feed that household until the salary comes in. We are aware of the UC lead times and will support UC applicants until the UC comes in - some of those have taken 3 months worth of support.

To explain the referral system.
By getting a referral to the foodbank the client then has 2 identified points of support. This gives reassurance that the issue which has brought them to the foodbank is being addressed by the people who are best placed to address it. So if for example a client who has a housing crisis which has caused them finance issues which means they cannot afford food is referred to us by the housing team we know that they are supported in the housing sense and we can then simply resolve the food issue. This has become much more important through covid as we cannot have clients inside to look at ways to support them. To be clear though if a client turned up on our doorstep as a first point of call with no food and a housing crisis - we would sort them food and a referral to the housing support team - so that they get the all the support they need. A good foodbank has a network of contacts and support offers as well as food.

Not all foodbanks will be the same. They each operate within their own area. This is why those who work within the foodbank are encouraging those who want to support to contact their local banks - independently of whether they are Trussell or not (we work with about 30 foodbanks across 2 counties - at least half are not Trussell- that doesn't mean we don't share information or food if that is the best way forward!)

Not all foodbanks will be the same. They each operate within their own area. This is why those who work within the foodbank are encouraging those who want to support to contact their local banks - independently of whether they are Trussell or not (we work with about 30 foodbanks across 2 counties - at least half are not Trussell- that doesn't mean we don't share information or food if that is the best way forward!)

Yep! I can't think of a foodbank across the 3 counties I live on the border of that doesn't do the same. We ALL share information, excess produce, even the limited stuff if there is a specific need somewhere. Trussell, church based, independent organisation. It doesn't matter.

And yes to the rest of your explanation too, @LittleOwl153. None of us work in a vaccuum. If/when we do get a walk in our first action is to identify their wider needs and refer them to the relevant organisation. We would give them an emergency bag of food (it's made up of basics plus whatever they say they need immediately and includes leaflets advice and signposting and a reminder to come back the next week) and wait for them to come back as a referral, so then we would be certain that they had hooked up with the support available. But we have a 2-woman team that follows up all the walk-ins, so if they don't come back within the week they go and meet them, make sure they are OK!

Many food banks work in many different ways, but I don't think that many people who have never been in one would understand the wider web of organisations we are all in constant contact with. As has been said here, and most of the previous similar threads I have been on, few understand why we require referrals - thinking it is to control who we offer food bags to. It isn't. It is to try and ensure that they know who to go to, what they are entitled to and how long we will be supporting them.

As an aside - it's good to know that TT has officially moved up with the UC etc. Last meeting I had (8 or 9 months ago) the last of the formal procedure hadn't been written into stone It took us the same amount of time to gear up, once we started getting UC clients. So bloody hit and miss and just as you think you have it the rules change!

We’ve find with referrals it can be helpful in many ways, one was being able to follow up with people who don’t turn up. We had a sad situation where a diabetic had a referral and didn’t come and get a parcel so now we follow up with people, apparently he felt too ashamed to come. Obviously people can not come for many reason, rarely they don’t need the food, sometimes it’s because of the church connection, mostly it’s shame.

Pre covid our distribution centres often had visiting advisors giving help to individual clients on claiming benefits, heating problems as well as our volunteers signposting them to agencies which might be of help, all while having a cup of tea and a bit of a chat.

And so many people are unaware of all of that.

Happily so, I guess, as that means they have no need for our services, which is a good thing.

Hopefully threads like this will slowly chip away at the stereotypes and let more and more people know the wide and varied work we do whilst handing out free food!

Some foodbanks are truly amazing. I popped into a local one to enquire on behalf of a woman I'd met and become quite concerned about. She'd escaped a shockingly abusive relationship (was mostly locked in for the best part of a decade) and had virtually no connections.

They sent me to an office (that I hadn't known existed) and the upshot is that she was assigned a support worker who phoned her daily; was moved into supported living ie a one-bedroom apartment in a complex staffed with social workers and protected by security; was referred to a trauma specialist, and received regular food parcels until her situation improved.

She's been in the supported housing for a year now and is on a waiting list for a more permanent place.

Fantastic support that all started with an enquiry about a food parcel.

Think is lottery with different areas. Was few years ago maybe changed now my experience. Domestic violence had no money for food until he became nice again. Was very ashamed but asked gp for foodbank referral cos not allowed without referral. Think now is address but then was no address so couldn't turn up without referral. Is another one in borough but too far cos am disabled and had no money to get there. Doctor made me feel stupid. Said she didn't know anything about that. I tried then citizen advice. Was horrible woman on phone said we don't give money when I didn't ask for money. Cos she was horrible in way she spoke wasn't just what she said was way she said it, I hung up. Was no way going to trust her with saying about domestic violence. Was different when was in refuge. Food bank was kind and they delivered to the refuge. Was a church one the refuge one and kind and the first one don't know if church is trussell but will never ask them for help again though maybe am unfair cos was the citizens advice who was horrible and not them but think bad to make referral only cos barrier if some situations.