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

14 years of austerity is the easy answer

Or just a war in Ukraine and a pandemic perhaps is the TRUTHFUL answer.

Plus a drought around the Med, which is where a lot of our fruit & salad is grown.

Food in the UK is still inexpensive compared to many European countries.

They’ve definitely not helped anyone’s economic circumstances but the food bank explosion happened from 2010, long before the war or Covid.

It’s the government that isn’t for for purpose.

That's an emergency food bank. There are different types.

Except the explosion of FBs happened way before those 2 things.

I regularly donate to my local food bank, but not only food items, I always include things like toothbrushes, toothpaste, shower gel, sanitary products, baby wipes, washing up liquid, etc, etc.
I know that if my finances were so tight, food would be the most important thing (after bills) to spend any available cash on, and it would be things like toiletries and cleaning products that would have to fall by the wayside.
I've hoarded for over 30yrs, and am currently trying to clear things out, so over the past few weeks I've collected so many toiletries together, that I've just dropped a black bag full of these items off to my local FB, along with another black bag full of basic food items that I've dug out of my kitchen cupboards with a couple of months left on their BB dates, or that I've bought specifically to donate.
I totally agree that there shouldn't be a need for FBs, but whilst there is, those of us who can afford to donate even one item each week when we do our shopping, probably should try to do so, because no-one knows what's around the next corner and whether we might find ourselves needing the generosity of others to help us get by.

I often go hungry and there aren't any food banks near us, if there were I would be oh so grateful for what you describe, some very cheap pasta stirred into that soup would make two filling meals for us per can maybe even three at a push. As others have said the legalities of safety etc with mass producing and storage would make it impossible to run. Please don't be mad at those actually trying to help

We looked into making food from donations and surplus school meal veg when I worked on the food poverty strategy at my local PH department. However huge issues around who makes it; storage, correct refrigeration, use by dates etc. A nice idea on paper which sadly just doesn’t work in reality

That's why zero hour contracts should be banned.
Employers should not get away with making employees take the risk of their bad planning.

I definitely think food banks giving out food without referrals are open to abuse. As someone else said same people turning up every week.

That’s not necessarily abuse. They might have no money for weeks because of a new claim, or sanctions, or they’re off work on SSP for example. Foodbanks will often say that although their emergency packages are for a few days, there are people/families that they have to give long term, ongoing support to.

It's already been pointed out, that those turning up every week, have complex issues such as poor mental health.

Many foodbanks are referral only, some place a limit on how many times you can use them. Packages often depend on what's been donated and may not be very much.

I've seen a package from a small independent foodbank, which had a tin of soup, a tin of creamed rice, a tin of peas and a few other items. It would certainly prevent starvation but is not something I'd be desperate to receive if I could afford a decent shop.

Did you read the poster who said her Uncle was using it because it was free food not because he needed too?

But surely the same people turning up every week Is a good thing because at least they have something to eat a little bit of interaction with another person that isn't in their "circle" and they feel looked after for that 10-15 minutes they are there.

For every" cheeky uncle " there will be 2 who need the food.

And as I said earlier, there will always be piss takers but most people are desperate. Would you leave hungry children to starve just so that the odd grabber doesn’t get the chance to take the mick?

That's the point of a regular food bank that people turn up every week so you can build community and they can get ongoing support. They only get a small amount of food.

Honestly, going to a FB is not that much fun. People who have no issues don't tend to go. Food is just one part of a weekly food bank. It's about giving people somewhere to go, someone to chat to, a meal cooked for them, other agencies coming in to provide support.

Sorry to hear that. Are you in the countryside? I think that living off the beaten track means people are effectively excluded from quite a lot of things.

I hope somebody on here can suggest an alternative.

Grateful then

Can you speak to the Citizens Advice? There might be a local foodbank that delivers. Is there a local WhatsApp group or Facebook group? If I knew one of my neighbours was often going hungry I'd give them something to eat.

@Lopine being a private landlord does not make someone rich. The profits are minimal.

you are an ungrateful person