To ask how long you think food banks should support people for?

[tartanbaker]

I help to run an independent food bank, & we currently support over 100 families. We are nearing our capacity (in terms of numbers we can help) due to limited storage etc, but there are new people applying all the time. We give people food every week, and some families have been registered with us for about 2 years now. They are still needy, and we all know that things are going to continue being tough for the foreseeable future, so my question is…if you were to donate to a food bank, how would you want them to use your food/money? Continuing to help everyone for as long as they ask for help, even though it might mean turning others away? Or telling existing families who rely on you that you can’t help them any more because you are going to help new people now? It’s so hard, and an ongoing debate we are having, and I’d be really interested to hear other people’s opinions. Both options seem really tough….

@oviraptor21 The root cause as you put it - is that -

*Benefits were frozen for 10 years for austerity.
*Benefits were cut as well
*The introduction of the 5 week wait for payment
*Also that benefits have risen by 3% this year whilst energy and food bills have completely soared by over 54% for the gas bills.
*Long waits for disability payments and people often being denied
*Rents (private) exceeding the amount benefits will cover and the bedroom tax.

If people want to be blind to these FACTS, to not realise that this is what the government WANTS (as someone said upthread), then they will never have any empathy.

Embarrassingly I was a food bank user for a year plus. Pushed into accepting help initially and then found myself stuck with charity as part of my life.
There is no rent or council tax help if you're in hospital, and you automatically fall into debt as a result and get ordered to use food banks so you can use money spent on food to service those debts.

I'm disabled with a restricted diet so actually all the cheap stuff, and I'm deeply grateful for the very basic food I got, (and most especially the right to choose extra loo rolls instead, which meant a lot) but after a year and everyone else seeing what I already knew; that I could neither increase my income nor lower my outgoings any further without giving up working completely and going onto benefits as everyone wanted, food bank started including letters about cutting back, and I decided morally I should remove myself.

If weight loss becomes problematic it's a medical issue not a social one, so I now get supplemented with ensure drinks at 300 calories each and vitamin D tablets by the NHS to keep things stable.

I was an early adopter of non dependance, but if you need to make dependent people do it, (which I think is your way forward) the kindest thing is to give lots of warning so they can slowly reduce intake while still supported and build up some stock and acclimatize. The body does get used to it, and can manage on less than we think, but having choice during the transition is really helpful. Dignity and some control of situations even when you're slowly loosing, really helps.

@Theytrytomakmego , I am so sorry. There should be better help to support people to stay in work where they can. I hope you are OK.

OMG, that's all I can say regarding your dilemma. You really are in a difficult position! I would just like to humbly suggest that you liaise with charities that help people find a job (I want to add I'm not being ironic here). Especially for those who've being out of work for so long, it's common to feel worthless and they need help from sb who can get them going again. It's not easy after so long. Maybe set up a day for a public talk and then another for sb to be available privately?
You say you accept everybody but do you at least have some sort of list that tells you why sb needs help from you? Maybe some of those people have other options available but don't know where to go for help.
There are different places to go depending on why you can't afford food in the first place so, even though people will find it intrusive, it is important to talk to them, in a private and secluded place, offer them a cup of tea and find out that reason.
I started writing what I thougt but who how can I decide who gets fed first!? I feel too small for this kind of decision. Whatever you decide, you're doing the best you can! I would make every single person register (even the old ones) and then decide case by case, make the final list and refer others to the council and other charities. Have you considered a local kitchen sort of arrangement because maybe that would make whatever you have stretch more and it would probably give more people a warm meal a day. Give less to each person, so more can get a little bit. Goodness I sound so pety. You are the nobel one and no matter what you decide you'll choose what's best I'm sure.

We have a rota system at one place, so many one week, and a different crowd the next so access is fortnightly, might that help?

I think using a food bank continuously for 2 years is an outrageous pisstake quite frankly. They should be for short term emergency use only.

It takes around 6 weeks to get a Universal Credit payment doesn’t it? So that should be the maximum amount of time.

People shouldn’t be taking food from a charity so they can pay debts! They need to get an IVA, bankruptcy etc if they’re struggling that much. As for drug and alcohol addiction, they shouldn’t be taking food from charity so they can use their cash for their addiction. If there are children involved, there should be an SS referral.

Everybody is struggling with the cost of living, you have to cut your cloth and people are signposted to lots of services from food banks so there is no excuse.

People who are really in an emergency situation should starve so others who’ve already had the benefit of long term support but can’t be bothered to get their lives together can continue to eat?

I would focus on helping new people. It must take a lot to make that first contact with a food bank and you must be feeling absolutely desperate, so to be turned away in that situation would be really, really awful.

I don’t think foodbanks are the place to sort out poor wages or insufficient benefit payments. I think they need to offer food to whoever needs it. If people are hungry, keep helping them. And then campaign, write to your MP, do whatever you can think of to get the systemic problems sorted out so that people don’t need foodbanks.

Let's remember that, for the first time in its 70 year history, UNICEF - since last year, now feeds children in Britain. We are the 5th richest country in the world and UNICEF feeds children here because our government does not. Our government should be mortified that this is the situation they have created but they have no decency or humanity.

I think this becomes an emotive subject because we are talking about food. Obviously, everyone needs food to live and so giving food to people who can't afford food makes sense. But essentially, money buys food, so food has a monetary value. Now, I don't know the cost of a food bank parcel, let alone what 2 years' worth would amount to, but if you think about the question in terms of money rather than food, it makes it less emotive.

A food bank is basically providing a crisis payment, in the form of food. Would you advocate for paying certain people a weekly amount extra because they can't afford food, for years at a time. Or provide a one off amount to someone who can't afford food that week? Both are equally in need, but why should some people get extra money and not others who are struggling.

Why have food banks at all (apart from the ones that reduce food waste) when you could save all the hassle and just give people more money to live on?

Yes, 5/6 weeks to get a UC payment. And then it is about £300 a month. Who can live off of that? Seriously.

I said in a previous post about people I know who had PIP stopped so had to go to food banks... sorting PIP out can take months, even a year.

Many people with addiction issues are in denial. They are not ready to address their issues yet.

Well said.

Those negative budgets are quite deliberate policy, BTW. This is exactly what the coalition and conservative governments intended. They slashed housing payments so that food and bill money had to be diverted to plug the shortfall. Now the inflationary crisis has been layered on top of that and people are going under.

We wrote up some case studies last year that were hair curling. Disabled people who can’t work and their unpaid carers are in a particularly horrendous position. No hope of a job to ease the crisis, benefits periodically reviewed or suspended, and Carer’s Allowance is still less than £70 per week.

Anyone talking about “lifestyle choices” or “weaning off” shouldn’t be commenting and certainly shouldn’t be working in this area.

we are likely to be "kinder" on a re referral from a family with children than a single person with alcohol issues

I really hope you would also be 'kind' on single disabled adults who often are left in complete limbo during barbaric disability benefits assessments and processes, and all other doors closed off to them.

Single disabled adults can be massively vulnerable in the current system.

@Fkingfnaaarr

And how lucky are those of us who are debating this from the position of being the folk who chuck some tins into the collection, or add a few £5 fare shares into their online shop? We're living in a society where people are expected to prostate at the feet of charity to show that they are "deserving" of food. Food, for fucks sake.

Yes all your outrage is correct, but none of it changes the fact that OP's particular food bank has limited options and ways to help. She's not responsible for what the tories have done. How would you suggest her organisation make this impossible choice?

Absolutely we would but we do look at circumstances and why people are coming to us for re-referrals and we have disabled people on more than basic benefits on a quick re-referral as we recognise that they often have far higher living costs than the norm due to disability etc - there are no hard and fast rules but as people have said upthread we aren't there to prevent people in heavy debt from bankruptcy we are there to help those that really need it and genuinely have no other way out.

It worries me the idea of people needing referrals - sometimes when people need food from a food bank it's an absolute emergency, they may not already be in touch with anyone who can give them a referral or know where to get one. I've been in this position.

At one of the drug services I work at this is a regular topic for concern. We have increasingly become concerned that this is a source of enablement for some of our clients. They will literally tell us they don’t budget for food as they’ll get it from the food bank. I know the move to remove the stigma and indignity of having to use food banks has been overwhelmingly positive but some of our clients speak of the food banks as an entitlement (someone the other day was moaning to me that they couldn’t get their “regular delivery slot” while I hear near daily moans about the quality of biscuits provided etc). We’ve even had staff threatened if they don’t just hand out vouchers without checking eligibility and have witnessed them throw half the box away because they couldn’t be bothered carrying it home or didn’t want all of it. While obviously this is a minority of food bank users and shouldn’t spoil it for all having an addiction shouldn’t make someone automatically eligible and nor should they remain eligible forever. I think you do need a set time they receive it with exceptions for certain cases and/or the ability to be re-referred.

Mumwantingtogetitright thank you, I will be ok. But yes it's perverse to try and force people to not work and not pay their way as best they can, when they want to.

Sortilege Disabled people who can’t work and their unpaid carers are in a particularly horrendous position. No hope of a job to ease the crisis, benefits periodically reviewed or suspended, and Carer’s Allowance is still less than £70 per week.

Exactly! Thanks to an unpaid carer ( just over the income to be allowed carers allowance) I can do the work I have, (proving I'm employable to others) but I don't earn enough, so the system wants me to go through making myself intentionally unemployed and all the issues that brings, in order to then live precariously and unproductively on periodically reviewed and suspended benefits instead.

If I do that and give up what I have, post pandemic I doubt I will ever get work again which is why I chose to jump rather than be pushed into make the choices the OP is having to consider making on others.

Our local foodbank have had to change to being an emergency provision. Clients are then helped towards claiming benefits and other support. They are referred by social workers. Unfortunately, this will happen less and less as more people feel the pinch and there will be a huge rise in need and l suspect less state support available

tartanbaker May be of no use but if there are any self storage companies near you, pre-pandemic some offered free /cheap unused storage to charities in exchange for publicity. I no longer know what the story is now, other than many are loosing customers hand over fist as most have put up prices just as the cost of living crisis bites. Just a thought.

It’s a difficult choice to make but I would put in a max period of a year… and then a cooling off period of a couple of months?

It depends on the reason as well.
Ongoing food bank use makes sense for the Ill/disabled. Not for people with drug and debt issues. If they haven’t sorted it in a year they’re unlikely to ever do so. You can’t feed them for the rest of their lives.

You’ll also face the double sting of donations dropping as cost of living soars

I really don’t accept it but there’s no choice - can’t sit on our hands and theorise about what the government ‘should’ be doing at this point!

There shouldn’t be any food banks at all. Will it take rioting , protests etc to change this??

Good Lord, you are all heart aren't you?
I really dont think it's a case of "can't be bothered " and "cutting your cloth".

the whole point is that many people have run out of cloth to cut. that's why they're at a food bank.

Exactly this.

This isn’t feckless scroungers taking the piss out of people.

it’s people - many of them people who have jobs - being unable to afford the basics to live.