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

Those who are so sure that the people going to food banks are actually just grifters, should really try volunteering at one.

Easy to be armchair judge and jury and get all your information from documentaries and internet forums, eh?

Go and volunteer. Bet you won't though. 😞

A lot of food bank users cannot afford to refrigerate fresh goods.
This is why UHT milk etc is requested.
The food bank we support asks for food that can be easily stored and microwaved.

I used to get annoyed at the people on Channel 4 documentaries....until I soon realised that's the objective of the programme. Now I'm frustrated with programme editors for pushing that type of narrative

And?

You’ve decided that all food bank users squander their money on fripperies and waste their money based on this one incidence?

Would you eat cheapo noodles all week to get your nails done? I doubt it. Nor would I, nor the vast majority of people. There will always be piss takers but they’re not in the majority. Why are you judging 3 million food bank users on the actions of one person? Why do you think Channel 4 showed this woman? It’s because they want people to get worked up into a frenzy, and talk about their show. They don’t give a shit that it demonises all poor people.

This.

If you cannot see what these TV programmes are trying to do by provoking outrage in people you must be hard of thinking. Same with the programmes where they find idiots or people with issues that shop excessively, then struggle with money. Suddenly "all young people buy too much shit which is why they can't afford to buy a house". Er, no. You have just seen one person be an idiot with money and lots of statistics prove that social mobility has fallen massively, the news repeatedly reports rising inequality, and there is a COL crisis. But yeah, keep watching the propaganda and put your own numbers on it instead. 🙄

Someone asked what has changed that food banks are so prevalent.

A few things that spring to mind:
Benefits can be sanctioned at the drop of a hat for families
It can take a very long time for a claim to be set up (months if not years to properly set up,)
Decline of mental health services leading to food banks taking up the slack
All of the above making people ill so the cycle continues.

Imagine being this easy to manipulate. I’m embarasssed for you.

Cars can be essential though, especially for those who are working, have disabilities or are carers.

I could very well lose my job next year, it's a very real possibility. We have a car.

Our son is autistic, will not be going to the local secondary school but to a specialist base. He's nowhere near being ready to get there via a taxi provided by the school on his own and has difficulties with transitions that make him often late so DH drives him to school and picks him up. How would we manage without a car? Nobody else in our village has a child going to that school so no chance of lifts, even if DS could manage and be out of the house on time, public transport would be a pita, add more stress at a time when we need to keep DS calm and regulated. I have never managed to get him to his current primary school on public transport, never even managed to get him to the station.

Most food provided by a foodbank, from what I've read here, DS wouldn't eat. He won't eat pies, or anything with sauce. His basic diet is cheese, ham, bread, fresh fruit. Trying things like tinned potatoes would be risky as if he didn't like them he might then refuse to eat all potatoes.

For full disclosure - we have a cat. We don't have designer gear, most of my clothes are from charity shops, with the occasional piece from Tesco/Asda when I've needed something and a few weeks (months sometimes) of trawling charity shops hasn't come up with anything.

@EilonwyWithRedGoldHair

I appreciate your unique circumstances. However, FBs are there to stop people physically starving & they do that for a good number of people.
They're crisis packages for 3 days. Not for people to live on, so people might not be eating well for those 3 days if they have particular needs that the FB can't accommodate, but there will be enough that they don't starve for those 3 days.
I think long term services for people requiring support of many kinds is a totally different issue to FBs.

My understanding is that few people - even with neurodivergent needs - will starve to death when there is food available even when that food is not safe food for them. There may well be some, which is a unique circumstance, but I think most would manage to eat enough of it to last 3 days.

Yes. I also think the huge rises in rents in recent years has been a significant factor as Housing Benefit hasn’t gone up at the same rate. People are left with next to nothing once the rent is paid.

My main point was about how cars can be essential.

But on the food issue - maybe DS wouldn't starve, but he wouldn't eat enough. Being hungry leads to meltdowns and his meltdowns are violent - as in I've had more than one trip to A&E after them violent. Another reason a car is handy.

Hopefully it won't come to that, and if needs be my DPs would buy us food for DS.

Its terrible isn't it ? So sad , food poverty is complicated people are vulnerable and sometimes don't fit into "criteria " of needing a hand in life and I think people either donate to food banks without conditions and judgement or they don't.

This supermarkets should be discounting so they don't have waste products

But realistically they are in the business of profit. They'd rather people bought the day before at full price rather than a slight discount the next day or bin on day 3.

If they have too many products discounted nobody would buy at full price - or certainly the people who are able to shop every other day wouldn't.

People shopping weekly would pay full price if they needed things to last. I take the longest dates myself. Those shopping every couple of days could take the short dated stuff.

@EilonwyWithRedGoldHair agree with you re cars. I think some posters are suggesting that people who can't afford food shouldn't have cars, but they're missing the point that FB isn't for people who can't afford food generally. It's a crisis cash flow issue for 3 days. You'd struggle to sell a car & get the £ through in 3 days anyway! And it'd make no sense to, as a car opens up job opportunities etc anyway.

Long term poverty is a different issue. Agree that cars are often essential for many reasons. If we expect ppl to live in cheap areas but accept work wherever it's available, they have to be able to get there- for example!

It also misses the point that if you're on UC it could reduce the amount of money you get if it means you have over £6,000, alongside potentially meaning you can't get to work.

Though I'd put up the savings allowance - saving should be heavily encouraged. Not saying people should get UC while having 10's of thousands in savings, but I do think the £6,000 could be a little higher.

Who is supposed to make this soup? From what ingredients? Using what cooking facilities? Portioned up in what containers? Stored where? And so on...

Tinned soup is much more viable alternative.

None of this negates the fact that food banks should not be needed in the way that they are, and that political failings have driven the rise in need. But they are volunteer run, and often use corners of other premises to function. Making up batches of soup is a very different operation altogether.

I am sure you don’t mean this but you seem to be suggesting that taxpayers should fund your life rather than dipping into savings ? Are savings not for times of need ?

I agree with you.

Producing soup in a safe manner for other people to eat costs money and requires expertise. Also, fresh soup has to be refrigerated and has a short shelf life. That’s why most food banks outsource the job to Heinz!

Or even better, ensure that wages and benefits are sufficient for people to make or buy their own soup. In fact they might not even like soup! Let them choose…

Or much of healthy society could take some responsibility for themselves… as independent, capable adults…

@GoodieMcTwoshoes it's a zero waste one

www.facebook.com/share/DmzLMwkyRSPPM8F6/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

Oh for goodness sake apply some common sense!

The number of foodbank users increased one hundred fold in a decade. Have people become one hundred fold more irresponsible?

Of course not. The pandemic and inflation have eroded peoples resources and the value of the social safety net.

I've worn "designer/branded gear" while being...not quite food bank material, but not far off.

It was given to me in a couple of bin bags, by someone I was attending chemotherapy with, because her daughter was having a clear out and I think she'd picked up on the fact my clothes were hanging off me and very worn and we were skint while waiting for UC to kick in.

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