To wonder what will happen to food banks when

[dottypotter]

Nobody has anything left to donate because they are all feeling the squeeze themselves.

It's tight for everyone and as they only rely on donations what would happen?

Obviously that was aimed at NellesVilla

Our local council helps to fund the food bank as well as big supermarkets like Tesco’s and Waitrose here. They may have less but there won’t be nothing.

So presumably you’d be happy for all the low earners in society to leave for better paid jobs, and leave the lower paid ones vacant?

In that case don’t expect cleaners in hospitals or other medical settings. Don’t expect carers in nursing homes. Don’t expect TAs in your DCs schools. Don’t expect to call your GP and speak to a receptionist to book your appointment. Don’t expect to call 999 and have some actually pick up. Don’t expect to walk into a shop and have anyone working there.

If the pandemic showed anything, it was that the lowest paid are the most vital among us.

Your username also suggests you might be a feminist? Try and stretch your imagination a little to think why some women may be stuck in positions with very little money.

Kind of is the government's fault though seeing as they've done nothing to incentive tovise employers to increase wages and have in fact actively contributed to poverty eith their austerity policies and a minimum wage that doesn't actually meet a basic standard of living.

It's not as simply as taking responsibility or getting a "better" job. Not everyone is capable of working their way up the ladder or indeed wants to, not to mention the fact that we need shelf stackers, checkout operators, delivery personnel, cleaners, waiting staff, nursery workers, etc and we need experienced people in those jobs long term just as much as we do people using them as a stepping stone to promotion.

A full time job at minimum wage should be enough to afford a roof over your head, food, utilities, a family, and some degree of treats/non-essentials. The fact that minimum wage coupled with cost of living increases is not enough for this most definitely is on thr government, they could mitigate it if they had any interest in doing so but they won't because they're far too busy shitting up the country whilst pocketing as much cash as they can.

Unfortunately very common, especially the foodbank volunteers I have found. Judgeyness is next to godliness I expect.

The government will have to step up. Whilst donating is a good thing to do all it does is mask the issue.

I last donated bin bags full of wrapped bits for Christmas and no one helped me lug them all in or even thanked me.

The one I volunteer at (Trussell Trust) has had to cut what goes in the food parcels due to people cutting back their donations. 😥

@badgermushrooms excellent post. Shame the Tory apologists have piled on telling us all how feckless poor people must be.

Yep. I've worked in the sector on and off for about 12 years and the amount of people who do it to show how 'caring' they are is remarkable!

I've also found this. In more charitable moments I do think of how low their self esteem must be that they deliberately position themselves amongst the poorest and most vulnerable members of society so they can feel superior.

Usually I just think: Cunts!

Hey, poor people, we know if you're earning below a certain amount you'll probably get Universal Credit, which you need to deal with online, and that often the phone you've had for years with its £10 a month, 12GB data is much cheaper than a laptop and broadband but HOW DARE YOU have a phone. Sure school need to contact you if DC is ill but you should sell that phone for the £20 it'll make you. I know that means you can't take that phone call about that interview for that better paid job you're trying to get but you're POOR, don't get ideas above your station.

My god. Is this attitude towards people really what we've come to. Do you think people who can afford to buy whatever they fancy for tea in Tesco are really glind to food banks?

Oh yes and the poster who has mentioned PIP, you're so right. At work part of my job is checking proof of income and I so often see PIP award letters where the person has a first payment of a few thousand, money they were entitled to from the day they claimed but weren't given until they appalled. Money they probably needed. PIP could cover things like a taxi home from the food bank if you're not able to walk that distance, coincidentally

Hopefully the food will be prioritized to needy rather than the junkies

How would you suggest food banks work out who is worthy do "junkies" not deserve food.

Will we make you chief human worth assessor ?

Yes, @Agrudge, the mentally ill and their children should starve. That'll learn 'em.

Fuck me, the piss poor state of our Education system is really showing.🤨

Not when they go through the bag of food and throw away all the cheap food then jump in a taxi

There is a fiction on Mumsnet that "things are tight for everyone". In real life, many people I know (not me!) are getting 100k extensions, going to Greece or Tuscany for the summer, and deciding which private school they want to send their children to. The rest of us (including me) are noticing that things are more expensive, but we are not struggling, and probably will not be.

The food banks may notice a reduction in donations from certain groups, but they will get extra funding from councils, which is already where many of them get their funding from in reality.

Councils are suffering from huge deficits at the moment though.
There's much less of that kind of funding around just now.

I don’t donate to my local FB, but I do in my original home town. Where I live now is one of the most affluent areas in the country, and I worked for a charity which dished out food bank vouchers. I met a lot of people taking the piss, whilst also slogging their local Homestart helper to exhaustion. I’m my town they can’t find staff for love nor money, and there is London 45 mins south and other bustling employment centres north, east and west.

I left my local town due to lack of work and education opportunities and I’ll happily donate to there, but not where I live because there are some seriously work shy chancers here.

I used to live in New Jersey and the ShopRite and Kings supermarket chains had/have an excellent scheme: when paying at the till you could ask the cashier for a (printed) token for the food bank. They were in various amounts eg. $1, $5, $10 etc. The token once paid for went directly into the till.

The food bank managers could then choose whatever was needed. Personally I found it really convenient as I didn’t have to think about what products to buy and the money went directly to the food bank.

I assume it can be used if you use a hand held device too (which I didn’t when I lived there).

@TheYearOfSmallThings I think it does depend on the circles you move in. I think most people hang out with people with similar household incomes, so you are unlikely to notice the squeeze amongst your friends if you have a high household income. We were chatting to friends recently who said they may cut down eating out by 1 time a month…..that’s not exactly ‘squeezing’. I have only 1 friend who I know is struggling. I have many colleagues whom I know will struggle, but they are colleagues, not friends.

Agree TheYear - you only have to look at some of the threads on here about holidays, style and beauty etc to know that not everyone is struggling... the media likes to portray the picture that everyone is finding life extremely tough financially at the moment but that is clearly just not true. There are still lots of people able (maybe not willing) to donate to FBs.

you are unlikely to notice the squeeze amongst your friends if you have a high household income

That's the thing - I don't. Very average, and although I have friends who earn way more, my colleagues don't. And the other parents at DS's bog standard state primary in East London also don't. And yet they are getting new kitchens and loft extensions and going on holiday... because in reality life is ticking along just fine for most people. Ordinary people.

Councils are suffering from huge deficits at the moment though.
There's much less of that kind of funding around just now.

My local council just announced another half million to local food banks while waiting for funding from central government. And I know from a friend who manages a food bank that although they do appeal for public donations, it is the money they receive from council and other sources that really keeps them afloat. They are less vulnerable to the people putting two cans of beans in the trolley at Tesco than it might appear.