@TalkToTheHand123 You'd be welcome to take food from the community pantries to save money so you can have better holidays. 🙂They are officially there to reduce food waste, though those who run them are very aware of who's also using them because of need.
Of course there will always be CF's around but like so many things, appearances can also be very deceiving.
Being disabled often means loading and unloading vehicles makes me very visable.
I'm publicly berated by a neighbor (who isn't very good with their finances or choices, and is a regular food bank user) for being seen taking large quantities of food from a couple of community food pantries (open to all) and a food bank, (referral only) and showing my face easily as frequently as they do..
Neighbor has no idea some of their and their kids free meals are prepared by me, and shouts all sorts of slurs around to make themself feel and in their opinion, look, better to others.
I do (internally) question if they couldn't divert their energy to sorting their life out, rather than abusing others. But, I know the kids would still be taken abroad regularly, because their parent expects to go (along with many other things that are luxuries to me), but they'd just be hungrier in between trips.😕
I'm actually a community cook, collecting excess and rejected food, to cook up and turn it into re-heatable vegetarian meals in containers, some of which are then transported to both community pantry/food bank freezers, and the big ones are for the street kitchen I'm part of.
The community pantry has a main table that's take all you can use please, and is for all, others that are rationed, and behind the counter items and prepped meals which are for those who specifically ask for them, or are known to need them and asked if they'd like them.
Meals aren't always as nutritious as we'd like, but I'm good at making something filling and tasty from little, can cater for vegans and religious requirements, and can cook on scale. The meals I make go to anyone who requests them and I don't have any issues over who they are, how they live, or why they take them. The vast majority are people in need, one way or another.
I with others, help feed a small army of street homeless people every week.
It's incredibly difficult to sort your life out when you're running on empty and constantly malnourished, whether you've fallen on hard times or you're the author of your own problems.
They too are a huge cross section of society and a couple of them have managed to hold onto cars. There are people in high quality tents, people in festival level tents, basic benders, cardboard shelters, and or just a tarp or a plastic sheet, and those without even that.
In amongst them we have the odd one who is 'just' precariously housed, or so low on funds that the lure of a free hot meal will draw them, and we get the occasional person who turns up, who we suspect has no need of what we offer at all. We rightly question no one.