To think food banks aren’t fit for purpose

[ForFirmBiscuit]

I don’t need to use a food bank but when I did they gave me tins of soup, a small tin of meat pie, a litre of UHT and a small bag of oats, nothing fresh. I didn’t get much and I was really hungry as there wasn’t enough calories and it was insubstantial. It gave me loads of anxiety to be so hungry. It’s always been like that.
I think food banks should be supplied by the council and given proper budgets for good food, even if they made batches of soup themselves to give out it would be more filling than a tin of soup

Oh the old "if people bought less coffees they could afford ...." argument. The fact is that housing WAS a hell of a lot more affordable. My parents could afford to buy a three bed semi with garage, two gardens etc on one factory workers wage. Now a factory worker would struggle to pay rent on a shared room in such a house.

And people have always made bad financial decisions, that is not a new thing. Just because some had it hard in the 80's doesnt mean it was, over all, harder than it is now. Because it wasnt. I was there too. I remember it very well.

ETA Just because there may be a very small number who spunk money on crap and then take advantage of others kindness, doesnt mean everyone does. There have always been takers and users, tale as old as time. The VAST majority of foodbank users are doing so out of desperation and you are being insulting that they somehow could manage better if they didnt have netflix.

What i want to know and keep asking but get no answer is what these regular users are like. Do many have new smartphones, designer wear, air max trainers, netflix subscriptions etc etc.

No, no, no and no idea. You are very far off the mark, certainly from the cohort I serve. If you are anywhere near south London please consider this an invitation to come along one week, give us two hours of your time and see for yourself.

I didn't. Did you?

I can only answer for the Foodbank where I volunteer . I have no idea if our service years have Netflix etc but I imagine most of them have smartphones as they are pretty essential nowadays.
We require a referral and it’s not supposed to more than once a month but we do have some people who seem to be there a lot more often . Like other places we give 3 days worth of food, toilet rolls etc dependent on stock.
We have a lot of single parents and also single men who frequently have MH or addiction issues .
We do try to give some benefit advice or signpost people to other support but responses are mixed. We also tried to set up a basic cooking class but there was no interest .
Overall I think most people are grateful but we do encounter complaints about the items we give out.

The last time I visited my family in Italy 2 years ago, the first meal I had was mushroom pasta made from mushrooms foraged freely from the hillside. It’s a different way of thinking

If you live in the arse end of Tottenham or Toxteth, you'll find precious little to forage.

Actually, I live on the edge of the south downs in Sussex, and I've never seen field mushrooms growing here. The only significant fungi I see are the ones that grow on dead trees, and I have no idea if they're edible, fly agaric (not edible) and a couple of fields where psilocybin grow (edible, I believe, but give you hallucinations, so not ideal).

YABsoU it is difficult to know where to start.

If the Government cared, then there wouldn't be any need for foodbanks.
If they were willing to ensure no-one in this country went hungry, then no-one would need to be relying on other people's generosity to be able to feen their families. Of course foodbanks aren't going to be funded.

There must be no more than 200 cal in a tin of soup if that you can’t really call it a meal
Odd. In the Winter, I quite often have soup for a meal.
I would generally only have 1/2 a tin though.
Think it is a bit strange to say a whole tin isn't a meal.

when I did they gave me tins of soup, a small tin of meat pie, a litre of UHT and a small bag of oats, nothing fresh
Can you explain how, logistically, you expect them to be able to store and distribute fresh produce ?

That would definitely be a concern for me. That the need just isn't genuine, esp with church groups who are incredibly generous and don't require a referral.

I'm not sure what the answer is but I don't believe it's foodbanks.

I'd also lay a bet, few if any recipients of food banks ever volunteer their time

We see the same people every week but you get limited vouchers for the food bank. Most just like to come for a tea/coffee a biscuit and a chat. We can only use local village supermarkets as we're not the main food bank which is open more but they also donate to us.

In my town, you can only have 6 vouchers (food bags) in 6 months.

The VAST majority of foodbank users are doing so out of desperation and you are being insulting that they somehow could manage better if they didnt have netflix.

Its not tricky to understand. Desperation and food banks are meant to be a LAST resort. If they didnt have netflix, or that takeaway, or that new phone, or that dog then that money is freed up for the more essential matter of food. I dont know if thats the case but if it is then we can blame in part the further rise of consumerism and making some non-essential goods and services seem essential.

Here I am answering you for the third time blouson as someone working daily in this field, to say that your assumptions are really quite incorrect.

" If they didnt have netflix, or that takeaway, or that new phone, or that dog then that money is freed up for the more essential matter of food. I dont know if thats the case but if it is"

It isn't. /fin

Didn’t take long for the ‘Food insecurity here? No such thing, if only the feckless poor would just budget better they’d not go hungry and too many are cheeky scammers who are not genuinely impoverished and hungry’ crowd to show up.

I don't donate food any more, I buy a Tesco gift card every now and again and drop it off to our local food bank. They really like that, it means they can buy what they need the most.

It's not just food that's needed (although that's the most important thing, obvs), but also things like nappies and formula, toiletries, washing up liquid and so on.

I live in a "naice", affluent SE town of approx 20k population, where it's hard to find a house for much under half a mill. There is still more poverty than a casual visitor would ever imagine, and we have 3 food banks. They are very much needed, even here.

It's a bloody disgrace, really.

Who doesn't want to queue up in the rain dripping in gold, for a packet of custard creams and a bag of porridge.

1. They give far more than you describe. Pick list for the the one I volunteer at is - 1 box of cereal, 2 cans of soup, 2 cans of beans, 2 cans/jars of tomatoes or pasta sauce, 1 can of tinned spagetti, 1 can of fish, 2 cans of meat, 2 tins of veg, 1 can of tinned potatoes, 2 cans of fruit, 500g pasta, 1 can rice pudding, 500g rice, 2 noodle/rice snacks like instant noodles, 1 litre long life juice or squash, 1 litre milk, 1 pack biscuits, 1 bar of chocolate. Tea, coffee, cleaning supplies, toiletries, nappies and pet food are also added in if needed. There is also a trolley where anything non standard is put for people to help themselves to.
2. The bags are supposed to be an emergency supply for 3 days while other things are put in place so you can buy food. We have debt advisors, citizens advice and other agencies which come in to help people.
3. Most food banks have no places to keep fresh food, and the food they have has to be stored and kept safely. Making and serving food would open up a huge amount of problems which since most have no paid employees (or 1 paid manager who is almost always only part time) it would be almost impossible to manage.

I think some people with additional issues like addiction have such chaotic lives that self awareness and boundaries go out the window that's why they complain about food not being right.

I worked at a food bank for 4 years, manager for a year. We did get fresh donations in odd time, however, not knowing how many clients come in we cant buy perishables, its false economy. Tinned fruit (not in syrup) and tinned veg is as good, if not better than fresh. Oats are a good breakfast...slow release energy. We gave advice on meals you could cook with ingredients we gave. We relied on donations.
Ideally oc we would like fresh food..but sadly its just not sustainable. Food is food.

David Clapson also died of starvation after being sanctioned for missing one Jobcentre meeting.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/09/david-clapson-benefit-sanctions-death-government-policies

I think people forget that for a person accessing a foodbank, their smartphone may well be their main means of communication and vital internet access. They may well not have a landline, or a router with nice wifi. They may well not have a PC, or a laptop, or a tablet, for accessing job applications, and benefits information, and info on their children's schooling, and health appointments. They may run everything from their phone, so having one that functions adequately is pretty much a necessity. That isn't consumerism, it's just living in the internet era.

My mum works in a supermarket and she said the waste was astonishing. I don't get why food ends up in a compactor when it could be feeding people.

If I won the lottery I'd have a group of food vans delivering food into communities that need it, but sadly I haven't.

Maybe the supermarket she works In isn't involved in Fairshare they take the short dated food.

So you are finally admitting that you dont actually KNOW if these people have netflix or smartphones (which are needed to claim benefits these days) or designer gear? You are just assuming that those who are going hungry are doing so because they are choosing to spend their money on other things.

I have been involved with our local foodbank for a while, not actively volunteering at the bank but I took over my mothers role of collecting donations and delivering them. Believe me, even getting there is beyond the purse of most, walking a long way for three days worth of the basics is done because if they dont then they will go without. These people do not have netflix, or posh phone or fancy clothes. They also have no fucking money and no fucking food.

I am an unpaid carer, I work 10 hours a week in a pub at NMW, for my sanity and get £81 a week carers allowance (less than £2.50 an hour by the way for the minimum 35 hours of care I need to provide to get it). I know poverty, I am mortgage free because I did that before my parents got ill, but now I am back in poverty. Dont fucking tell me that if I didnt buy a coffee (I dont) or didnt have netflix (I dont) or prioritised the basics (I do) that I wouldnt be poor. Its only not having rent or mortgage to pay that stops me needing a food bank.

But hey, keep pushing your narrative of the undeserving poor......btw the Workhouse called and asked if you'd like your old job back.

Can people stop banging on about frigging Netflix? It costs £2 a week. Even assuming these poor people have it to begin with (which I imagine many don’t), cancelling it wouldn’t mean they could all suddenly start doing their big shop at Waitrose. Why do people keep referencing it as an example of decadence? It’s ridiculous.

What about having a dog? Apparently you should give up your pets (or eat them) before going to a foodbank. Who cares that they're considered family or may be someone's only company? Perhaps people should strip the walls and eat dried wallpaper paste.

I'm glad you're all admitting that people can prioritise other things such as cars, pets and good old Netflix even at £2/week over food.