Southwark food bank will be closed on Monday the 19th

[pinkbear95]

Now don’t get me wrong, I understand the Queen of the country has died. I understand it’ll be a bank holiday and a lot of businesses are making the decision to close out of respect for Her.

However, how is it anywhere near reasonable to close a food bank on Monday?! I’m not sure if it’s just Southwark or many others but I genuinely think that is inhumane and abhorrent. The Queen never went hungry a day in her life. During the cost of living crisis, a food bank has decided to shut. Surely not?!

Surely it's no different to shops closing on Monday. If you can afford to buy your own food, you plan to do your shopping on another day. If you have to rely on food banks, you plan to visit on another day.

Given it's location close to Westminster it seems even more sensible to close, the streets will be packed.

Because the volunteers also want to mark their respect?

It is one two hour session, by appointment. There are 3 other similar sessions per week.

You may have an unrealistic idea of what foodbanks actually supply!

Given they are run by volunteers, are they not entitled to watch the funeral if they want? Get your good on Sunday or Tuesday, no one is going to starve for one day.

Realistically most food banks are run by volunteers so they have probably spoken with their staff team and decided that they are unable to run the service on Monday.

southwark food bank referrals take up to 3 working days at any rate and you do have other options such as the community fridge at dog kennel hill although this is also likely to be closed on Monday.

Feel free to volunteer and offer to keep it open on that day.

No-one will starve for it closing for one day.

Inhumane and abhorrent?

That's a bit extreme.

Nobody is denying people food here. They just can't collect on Monday, they same as you or I can't go to the supermarket.

I imagine the staff probably can’t get there - it will be crowded and with limited public transport because of the BH. People will work around it

Many have closed across the country. It's mad and I don't think the Queen would have wanted that. Seems daft to potentially let struggling people go hungry while they don't watch the funeral as they can't afford the electric

I never said anyone will starve….

My point is, the Queen has never gone hungry a day in her life. Yet a way of showing respect is to close the place that actually provides food to those struggling? How does that make sense? Clearly I’m in the minority because people are saying, ‘what if volunteers want to show their respect.’ You guys must also agree with planned funerals being cancelled on Monday.

And no user’s of the food bank can’t just go on Sunday as it’s shut on the weekends

sorry, not have closed, have announced they will close.

sidewayswalking · Today 09:43
Inhumane and abhorrent?
That's a bit extreme.
Nobody is denying people food here. They just can't collect on Monday, they same as you or I can't go to the supermarket.

^This. Extreme reaction much? What do food banks do normally on bank holidays and why shouldn't the volunteer staff have a day off as well as millions of others?

Thank you, that’s exactly my point. As if that’s somehow honouring the Queen

I applaud you for caring, but I think your anger is misplaced. People needing to use the food bank will arrange to go on a different day. Like doing your shopping on a different day.

Start getting angry about why foodbanks are needed in the first place - that’s inhumane and abhorrent.

I'm in two minds about this.

On the one hand, it is only a day. And I would imagine that due to the amount of public transport and road closures in the area, the staff/volunteers would find it next to impossible to actually get to the premises on Monday anyway. Most of them won't live close by. So it seems logistically... not unreasonable.

However, I am finding myself increasingly irked by the kick-bollock-scramble that seems to be happening around this in a more general sense. Councils and businesses seem to think nothing of closing a road, a shop, a chain of shops, an entire area of a city. Hospitals closed, operations cancelled, GPs shut. And so on, and so on. And ordinary people just have to lump it. I get that it's our head of state, and things like this happen very rarely. But nevertheless, it's not sitting right with me.

Why shouldn't the volunteers not offer their services that day if it's important to them to spend the day reflecting

You've missed the point. It's not about shops and services closing as a mark of respect. It's so that staff can pay their respects if they want to.

Why are they going hungry? They can collect another day instead, nobody goes to the food bank every day 🤷🏻‍♀️

Start getting angry about why foodbanks are needed in the first place - that’s inhumane and abhorrent.

Very true!

I think this too

I was on the rota for our local foodbank next Monday. I’ve had to pull out, because I have no childcare now (there’s also another volunteer who has had to decline because she is needed to take care of her grandchildren so their mum
can work). The first two people I asked to cover me said no, one because they HAVE to work, and the other has asked to work because she can’t afford to miss out on the bank holiday pay rate.

like it or not, foodbank staff aren’t employees, they’re volunteers. This means that sometimes they have to prioritise their own needs and lives.

You sound a little entitled @pinkbear95 especially given the thread the other day regarding how food bank users treat volunteers.

*some food bank users

Start getting angry about why food banks are needed in the first place but don't just start posts and or shouting about it, use the energy from your anger to do something proactive about it, get yourself into politics, be the change that you want to see.

It’s not all about honouring and respecting the Queen, it’s about volunteers being able to watch the funeral.

They’re volunteers ffs, and people can visit the food bank the day before or after.