Foodbank buying items from shops?

[girlfriend44]

I always thought that foodbanks were given out of date stock when I saw them collecting from shops and supermarkets.
I have now found out they buy items from certain retailers at a reduced price.
They put orders in. Where does the money come from to purchase?
Also they have vans, which cost money in petrol etc.
Anyone else think the same, never realised they were collecting stuff they had ordered in. I thought it was donated to them?÷

I accept there are some CFers

That's good. The problem is, I think a lot of well meaning people massively underestimate the number of CFs about, and the lengths that they will go to in order to freeload off others. Growing up on a council estate, I saw plenty of these types.

The number of times I read on these threads that, 'nobody would ever abuse a food bank because it's so humiliating to have to go in the first place', astonishes me. Are people really that naive that they don't understand that many, many people have absolutely no shame whatsoever, and will happily feed sob stories to get what they want? It puts you off donating because you question whether these people have the common sense to make good use of the money.

There have literally been dozens of articles about ways in which people abuse or try to abuse food banks. E.g

www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/news/grimsby-news/people-2k-month-benefits-abusing-6061521#

It's good that food banks are getting wiser to this and asking for referrals (although not all of them do), but the level of naivety in the beginning was astonishing.

????

What's your AIBU?

Do you have any proof of this or is this just anecdote?

Maybe I’m cynical but I never give to food banks, they started out being very well meaning, giving food to those in dire need but now they’ve just grown into another hand out shop.
I would bet that at least 80% of people who use food banks could, if they actually tried feed themselves perfectly adequately.
You only have to look at the Savers section of any well known supermarket and you could provide a very healthy meal for very little money.
It’s just become the easy way out … again.

Just wow !! Why do you think people are referred to foodbanks ?

Where could the proof possibly be unless the poster knows the personal circumstances of everyone in her area ? It’s the same as posters who claim to know people claiming disability benefits who aren’t disabled. Impossible to know, easy to accuse.

In every walk of life, you are going to get chancers. You have to accept some level of dishonesty to make sure these services are available for those in genuine need. Stopping donations because of a minority of chancers is spiteful.

‘Dozens of articles’ doesn’t really amount to many. I have had friends who, despite being strapped for cash and having hardly any food in, are absolutely adamant they wouldn’t set foot into a food bank because it’s embarrassing for them. I expect many feel similarly as well.

One could argue that if those ‘chancers’ you speak of are actually incapable of prioritising their budgets properly to feed their families, for whatever reason, then technically they are in need. It isn’t the fault of any children involved because they have parents that can’t budget. They may have some kind of learning difficulties or addictions or just struggle budgeting. No one knows.

I knew a couple with a young child once who used the food bank fairly regularly because they had a cannabis addiction and chose to spend their money on that, but it definitely wasn’t the child’s fault and the family obviously had a dysfunctional life. It’s very, very rare that an average family with no backstory would use a food bank willy nilly.

https://www.jrf.org.uk/news/universal-credit-falling-so-far-short-of-the-cost-of-essentials-is-putting-the-health-of

Here’s one reputable research body which disagrees with you. I can find others if you like?

As I said above - I work in this area and what you’ve written doesn’t at all match what we see on the ground.

They'll buy items that people wouldn't usually donate. Food packages contain more than beans and pasta.

We would rather not have to have to pay.
For ware house space, vehicles or any paid staff.
the reality is we have to provide a service that is free at the point of use and would not be able to do that on donations.
it is a much more efficient use of our resources to have cash but that is not how to appeal to donators
Supermarkets are a bit careless when delivery ‘going out of date’ items. They have to collect the out of date stuff which makes more work for us.

Like you i hate the, ‘jump on the poster’ answers.We welcome people like you who ask a genuine question to get a better understanding of how we work. Well done, hope your tin hat did not get too dented. @girlfriend44

Once more with feeling. The major charity run foodbanks have always required referrals. They get their funding from donations and grants which have to be justified. Many organisations and healthcare professionals refer to them as part of multiple referrals for those in need of different services. There are local foodbanks run by independents, community larders and organisations like Cycle, some of whom use leftover donated food from local shops, and utilise food that would otherwise go to waste. These places offer free or low cost food to those who turn up, with no questions asked. There is a difference. It’s not naivety to think that a few CF’s who turn up shouldn’t affect donations made with those in genuine need in mind.

I have dietary issues.
I can afford to feed myself.
However I'm not so up myself that i cannot imagine not being able to.

Having to go gluten free has opened my eyes to just how many products contain gluten. I had no idea. I thought it was mainly bread and pasta. And the price of some gluten free products is eye watering. Next time you're doing your shopping, compare the price of everyday food with the gluten free version. Or have your butler do it for you.

People do donate money too. I’m sure it’s actually more helpful than chucking in beans and biscuits in the food bank trolley. I assume these cost money to collect and they’d be buying in bulk at a discount.

That said it’s a really good visual reminder to donate and I think lots of people will donate intermittently as income/ expenditure fluctuates. I do miss the days where you could donate money to people collecting for charity. Whereas now everyone wants a direct debit set up. I might have a spare £10 one month it doesn’t necessarily mean I have the same every month.

Well there are plenty of food banks where you don’t have to be referred, it makes it too easy.
What if every food bank had a financial advisor who looked at the total income/ outgoings of the claimant, you’d soon see a drop in customers.
People need educating on how to manage money and how to cook nourishing cheap meals, not constant handouts!

Wonderful way ro scare off vulnerable people.

If you read the thread you will understand the difference between foodbanks who require a referral and those who are independent and use different sources for their supplies. I really can’t be bothered explaining again. Trussell Trust, Salvation Army and others who are charities rely on donations and grants, so require referrals. And those referrals are time limited because they are made in conjunction with referrals to other services designed to improve the circumstances of the person in question. You can’t just rock up at these places and take home a bag of food whenever you like for ever more. At some point a re-referral will be made to check that the person hasn’t fallen through the system in respect of other services involved.

And the use of the term’ handouts’ is disgusting in this context. We’re talking about some very vulnerable people who are in circumstances which would make most of the smug, comfortable, five bedroom home owning, Prosecco drinking MNers here want to curl up and die.

I was a disability outreach worker, and I saw many claimants in dire circumstances who absolutely refused to be referred to foodbanks as their mental health was too fragile. Places similar to the ones mentioned here - community larders etc, where donated food was given freely were, in a lot of cases, the only thing that kept them fed until the other support services kicked in and they got the support they needed to turn things around. There are some utterly awful opinions expressed here - and by people who clearly have no knowledge or experience of anything remotely similar.

To cook nourishing and cheap meals, you need a store cupboard of ingredients and the appropriate cooking utensils. As someone who worked for many years with some of the most vulnerable people there are, I can tell you that people on the absolute bones of their arses don’t have that, or anything like it. Why in Gods’ name would you want to make it more difficult for them ? Especially when some of these organisations utilise food that would otherwise go to waste. Would you rather them throw it away than see it used ?

If you are happy to help me raise the £18k a year it costs to employ such a person I’m happy to hear from you.

Plus, what pp said - you have a homeless person coming off the street, hungry. Or a newly arrived refugee. Or a woman fleeing DV. You want them to list all their income and outgoings for that month before you hand them a bag of basic food?

That poster reminds me of 30p Lee 😂 clueless and ignorant. It just makes them feel like a better person to think they have made better choices, that’s all.

Presumably the examples you list will actually have been advised to go/referred by an agency?

That you Lee?

Not necessarily. I’m in a London borough, there’s a centralised list of food projects across the area and in theory people can find us themselves. It’s unlikely though. Most are a referral. But that could be quite an informal thing - eg a teacher at a school we partner with telling a parent about us if they suspect the family is in need.

It's not just poor people who have no cooking or budgeting skills. Look at the grocery baskets of your fellow shoppers next time you go shopping. Most are filled with expensive convenience foods and snacks and very few fresh vegetables. Almost no one buys dried beans and grains. I'd love to see "home economics" taught in schools again, to both boys and girls. So many people go out into the world without even the most basic skills.