To think this school trip is badly misjudged

[MaoamAddict]

Have name changed as the situation is very specific. DC is in year 1 at a lovely school, but we've just received notice that a school 'trip' will be taking place to a local food bank. The school have asked for us to pay for transport (not a problem) and have gone on to say that the children will be packing food, handing out food parcels and seeing behind the scenes of a large local food bank.

We live in a middle class area with a minimal number of DC on pupil premium but there are certainly families within school community who are on the breadline and may have used food banks. I think it's fucking crass for the school to be using a food bank as a spectacle?! We donate weekly financially and feminine hygiene products, but the school don't seem to have thought this through at all, what if one or more of the DC in the 3 year 1 classes have visited that food bank?! How do I word these concerns without being 'that' parent? Or AIBU and overthinking?

The 'trip' is designed to fit in with a superhero topic at school - the food bank volunteers are being framed as the superheroes (tenuous link?) the food bank volunteers are amazing, but this feels wrong on so many levels.

I agree with you in that I think it's totally inappropriate. I volunteer at a FB and we have been asked 'to show people round' or have visits from schools, Brownies etc. We would only do this when the FB is closed & the DC can see how we operate, help unpack etc. To be honest I doubt how 'educational' it really is and always means more work resorting the shelves afterwards anyway. Unless there is an exceptional request we no longer agree to 'visits' ... we are all volunteers and giving up yet more time to show a group of Cub Scouts round in an evening (for example) is not always easy.

No way would it be appropriate for anyone (apart from trained volunteers) to hand out parcels or meet clients.

I completely see where you are coming from. If I was a food bank user I wouldn’t be delighted to see lots of kids in there “helping”, especially if I had a kid at the school.

growing up i lived in a deprived area and hated the faux concern of those from MC areas

I can see your point to an extent and think the children should help behind the scenes and have no contact with food bank users. Years ago older children at the primary school where I worked went to sing Christmas carols to homeless men at a soup kitchen in the church crypt. One girl saw her uncle there and was very upset.

Thanks @saraclara
@MaoamAddict If it were happening at my dcs school I’d go straight to the top. Not the school but the Trussel Trust. Email them and say foodbank in xtown is receiving a group of kids on a school trip and you’re concerned about the dignity of clients.
I suspect the foodbank isn’t a Trussel Trust affiliate; dignity is one of their core values and Foodbank under their auspices wouldn’t countenance it. Happy to whistle blow if you want to pm me the foodbanks details.

A person using a food bank shouldn't be ashamed but we as a society should be fucking ashamed that anyone has to use them.

But it's not entertainment is it, it's learning about something important and beginning to realise that you are part of a wider community. Some children will go home and encourage their parents to donate. Obviously, I'm assuming it'll be handled sensitively by teaching staff and the volunteers at the food bank.

Oh just seen your updates and now realise your main objection is that it's a rubbish 'trip' and they may come into contact with riff raff. Wish I hadn't engaged now.

I don't think they should be handing out food. I used to run a local food Bank and the volunteers for that role were carefully chosen. It is a delicate position. Many adults would not like to be handed food by a well.meaning child, they want to feel empowered not pitied.

Look round the logistics etc, we often had school groups coming to our warehouse and helping to weigh food, sort it etc, chat to the volunteers packing the food to go to the different branches etc.

I think a trip to the foodbank, seeing how it works behind the scenes how it works and age appropriate information about why they are needed is fine- handing out parcels etc is inappropriate though. I grew up in a very poor household but it was only when I was older I learnt my parents went without food for us- I would have hated that burden as a child so I do feel conflicted if I am honest about how much young children who are unable to process the info in the same way should be exposed to it, although I get its not the same now. There's always something a bit off about middle class children using the poor for a learning opportunity though, a bit like I want my child to go to a mixed school so they can learn about tolerance etc.

age appropriate information about why they are needed is fine

"Because our present government is a shitshow ineffectual."

What else do they need to know?

Foodbanks should not be normalised - it's a disgrace that they are needed. No one should have to rely on charity to eat.

I think it's a bit crass too tbh

I would ask the school for more information about what they will actually be doing. I can imagine year 1 children would be capable of handing out the food. I agree with you that it could be uncomfortable for the clients.

It does smack of “voluntourism” to me. “Hey kids, look at how some poor people live”. I agree with OP that it’s a bit distasteful as a school trip. Great idea to teach the kids about it, to applaud the volunteers and to have that as the charity for which the school is accepting donations. But it’s no more a venue for a school trip than a doctor’s surgery or a citizens’ advice bureau - some of the people using the service may feel uncomfortable with the presence of a group of kids. And their preference should come first here.

Is it really any different to going to local supermarket and packing bags at the till? It only becomes stigmatised if you make it so. Children need to learn about where food comes from and how much it costs.

I explained why I felt that way in my post if you bothered to read it.

Maybe year 6 will visit an STD clinic and hand out swabs to patients. After all getting an STD is nothing to be ashamed about is it?

I think I understand your angle. So a bit like Jeremy Kyle, or some Live Aid famine video....so a kind of spectator sport.
I'd hope that the food bank is in the next town/village to reduce the risk of 'exposing' any local families. As this visit is around the theme of superheros I'd also expect it to focus on the time and effort the volunteers put in including having a go at all the 'crappy' jobs too.
I think this type of visit could be a good thing if planned well with clear objectives.

You think school children volunteering at a food bank is “wrong on so many levels”??

not sure how that's made it through a risk assessment TBH but they will be interacting with the food bank's service users.

Interacting with food bank users?! The horror. Won’t someone think of the children!

The next thing you know his rugby team will be packing bags in Asda to raise money. Slippery slope.

Are you suggesting it’s inappropriate to expose children to poor people in the same way as sexually transmitted diseases?

@MaoamAddict schools are damned either way over trips. The cost of living is such that anything needing a coach trip drastically increases costing and I don’t know about your school but ours are trying to keep costs to a minimum knowing some parents are struggling.
With regards to the trip itself I think it’s a great idea for children to realise that people in the country they live in need help too. And that the volunteers there are doing an amazing job to help. Personally I think the fact you’re describing elements as ‘entertainment’ show maybe you’re missing the mark.

I might not smile if it's my neighbours kid or my nephew.

Sending a bunch of 5 year olds to a food bank ?. How bizarre !.

Interacting with food bank users?! The horror. Won’t someone think of the children

Way to completely miss the point @Swiftswatch . The point is that the food bank users shouldn't have to turn up to fund a bunch of kids, their teachers and other school staff (and possibly parents) there handing out their packages. It's demeaning to be used as a teaching tool, it's disrespectful and it breaches their confidentiality. Food banks are generally local and one of those kids or staff members could be their neighbour.

We're not thinking about the children, we're thinking about the service users who do not deserve to risk their dignity.

This point had been made over and over on this thread, which you really should bother reading.

I agree with you. Another step in normalising food banks. In 2010 they were few and far between - now we just seem to have accepted that our wealthy but unequal society has failed to the point that a sizeable number of people have to rely on charity to eat. Absolutely no way this should be a school trip when the food bank is open. We all should be angry about food banks - not seeing them as a day out. I guess if you approached it from the view of 'what could we as a society do to ensure poor people don't have to rely on rich people's benevolence to eat' that would be an angle.

Are you suggesting it’s inappropriate to expose children to poor people in the same way as sexually transmitted diseases?

To be fair, that wasn’t what she was suggesting at all - that was a response to a pp who suggested the food bank trip was similar to helping to pack bags in a supermarket and that food bank use wasn’t anything to be ashamed of. An STD isn’t anything to be ashamed of (and it’s laudable that people seek appropriate help if they have a problem) - but they may not want an audience of local kids, especially if there is a chance they might be recognised. Because we know that some people would be uncomfortable with that. And the last thing you want is to put people off using a service that they need because they’re worried about the presence of extraneous others. The user comes first in these scenarios, basically.