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

The Irish famine was about 170 years ago: seems strange you remember it.

What do we think about the Royal Family volunteering at food banks ?

It'd be impossible for most food banks to offer perishable items. But they can offer some tinned fruit or veg, which is absolutely fine.

From seeing the stuff my uncle got though, there was maybe not enough protein in the parcels. Some beans/chickpeas but not enough to get their protein grams for the day easily.

It is only designed to be fairly short term, though.

It will have been well meaning publicity nothing more I don't really think they will understand the factors that go into food poverty and just see it as "helping out" or raising awareness. Which is fine i suppose it gives the charity publicity.

You don't mean to be so dismissive, do you? This comment is not in the spirit, imo.

They also need to consider they won't have their own transport. Can't afford a bus or taxi and have to carry it home on foot.

I think alot has to do with the fact that not all of us know our neighbours anymore.
Back in my youth, if a family was having trouble feeding their family, the neighbours would drop by with a dish or two.
Also it could be because there are more people now that just just don't give a darn and will sit on benefits instead of trying to find work. JMO

It's a scandal that we need foodbanks in this day & age. During the pandemic we got food parcels from ds school as he got free school meals, half the stuff we got we didn't eat so we either donated it to the foodbank or ds gave it to his dad, the only things we kept were pasta, rice, tinned fruit, tinned tomatoes, corned beef, fruit pie fillings & bread.

It's been a few years since I volunteered at our local food bank (Trussell Trust) and the boxes were very carefully packed.
Single person, couple, small family, large family. Number of days/meals.
They would sit on the shelves in the hub having been sent over from the main packing warehouse in town. They wouldn't be able to serve as many people if they were to have fresh food as well. The hub did take collections from the supermarkets of fresh food which clients could help themselves to.

We also had some stocks of toiletries and would ask if clients needed anything, or discreetly pack some things up.

It was very humbling.

I think if you need to use a Food Bank, whatever you receive for you should be extremely grateful for.

Yabu.

Food banks couldn't operate with fresh food. The waste would be enormous. They can only work with foods that have a reasonably long shelf life and that don't require refrigeration - tins & jars, porridge oats, UHT milk, pasta, coffee, tea.

Food banks aren't there to provide you with a healthy balanced diet long term. They are there to feed your dcs for the two or three days it takes to get through a weekend and call social services to ask for emergency help.

Tinned meat pie, tinned new potatoes and tinned peas may not be fresh but no worse than a Greggs pasty and will prevent your children being hungry.

There are still countries in the world that don't have food banks, but do have functioning social security systems and social (not-for-profit) housing.
It's sad that the OP and others don't realise that food banks didn't use to exist here. And that in previous times of hardship, those forced to rely on benefits could actually afford for the most part to buy basic foodstuffs with their dole money, and didn't face being 'sanctioned' for months on end (a truly shameful new low). Disabled people actually used to get slightly higher payments than other claimants, and have access to things like 'independent living centres', rather than literally starving to death and going through the kind of indignity they now face.
Austerity measures have affected society in so many ways - including cuts to public transport, leaving many people more dependant on overpriced local shops which don't even stock fresh fruit and veg - that malnourishment is on the rise. What an indictment of the Tories and all who have voted for them over the years.

Food donations that would have gone solely to the food bank in
the most deprived part of the city are now being shared by a community pantry, which appears to exist to give freebies out to the relatively affluent residents who can afford to buy their own food. I wish that food banks didn’t have to exist, but whilst they are needed, they should be prioritised.

Sounds like got the emergency pack which is what some foodbank centres give if someone turns up without a referral.

If you call Citizens Advice and get a referral before you go next time, you will get a week's worth of food. Most of it will be dried, tinned and long life goods though

Maybe you need to look into what's more widely available in your area?

In our (UK) city there are:

social kitchens (eat for free, just help with the washing up or cooking)

a social cafe where other people donate the cost of a meal when they're buying theirs and you pick up the note and eat for free)

people who cook soup and serve it on trestle tables around the city

a social allotment where you can take some of the produce you help grow

people giving away tons of food on the Olio app (there's also too good to go but I find that more competitive/more of a gamble)

other community run food parcels and food banks that are run by volunteers and no referral needed, often found on FB

local town has small planters dotted around with veg growing in them that you can just take

We are one of the poorest cities in the UK though.

Just because the boomers had a tight few years in the late eighties due to interest rates doesnt mean that they had it worse than anyone does now. To suggest that is naive at best and downright offensive at worst.

It's ignorant to think that all boomers had it good. The wealth divide was huge back then. Plenty of mining communities were absolutely decimated in the 80s, unemployment rates in general were through the roof, there was still a stigma to single mothers and however you ended up there, life on the breadline was grim. Heating for many was still coal fires (and all the lugging coal about and cleaning that entailed), there was no central heating, hot water was scarce. Some kids went to school smelly and scruffy. Hand me down clothes were still a big thing. Many either had no TV or chose a black and white TV as the TV licence was cheaper than a colour one. Phone line? Forget about it! Some housing stock was OK but dated, some were terrible concrete blocks, failed projects which were pulled down in the 90's. Meanwhile, yes other boomers had lovely new builds with gas central heating and a car on the driveway, some even had Sky TV!

There was a huge divide between the haves and have nots, and dare i say it in terms of material possessions, probably a much wider gap than today. Back then people did prioritise the absolute basics of food, shelter and warmth before all else. Today many prioritise the extras of life first (e.g. nice clothes, netflix subscriptions, expensive phones and contracts), and then think oh shit I'm going to have to use a food bank, or ration my electric use this week. Shouldnt food, shelter and warmth still come before all else?

And the welfare state wouldn’t cost as much of our tax if employers paid their employees fairly.
Universal Credit is a boon for the rich masquerading as a benefit for the poor.

Yes, how many millions of pounds of Universal Credit end up funding the holidays of private landlords?

Oh, so when Labour get in next week, we will see food banks consigned to history? Good to know…..

Just like Blair got rid of the poll tax, oh hang on. The problem is once you've invented something and created a need for it, just like food banks, it will stick around.

um, where did I say that?

try and use those seven braincells of yours instead of simping for the Tories.

We should not need food banks in a developed country. We are one of the richest countries in the world.

The minimum wage should be enough to feed yourself and live a decent life. And the cost of food should reflect our wages.

Our public servants should be paid in accordance to what they are owed. It is a travesty that teachers and nurses are in positions where they have to use food banks.

Leaving the politics aside, we used to deliver a small van load of food for our local bank. Usually quite a lot of food, but never fresh stuff though. And they always asked if we wanted a photo for our social media. I thought this was so fucking depressing. And we never ever had a photo.

Ah, the excuses are already starting. Why will there be a need for food banks? Labour are going to ensure wages do not remain stagnant, and that they will address this within 100 days of getting into office - no need for food banks then. Oh, and Trade Unions are going to get more support and rights, so they’ll be able to threaten companies, small and large, with strikes if they consider wages are too low. No need for food banks then. The good old days! Exciting times ahead…..

Just re-read your post. And yep, clearly says food banks are as a result of the last decade of Tory government. Which does kind of imply that it will all be different under a Labour government?