Foodbank - 3 cars

[TalkToTheHand123]

Am I being unreasonable to think a family with 2 cars and a big fancy house shouldn't be using foodbanks regularly? No disability issues.

I dunno? Something wrong

Yeah, your attitude. Especially if you were volunteering there and judging people coming through the door.

🙄

Well is it 2 or 3 cars? How do you know there are 'no disability issues?' How do you know ANYthing about them. Mind your own business @TalkToTheHand123

How long do you think it takes to sell the house and down size?
Should people starve whilst awaiting a sale?

Why do you care that much, unbelievable.

Seems to be another plopper and runner
Wind them up and watch them go 🙄

It’s a pretty contentious issue. Firstly, I think it’s a crying shame that our government provides so poorly for vulnerable families that they have to rely on banks of food donated by kind people. Why is the government not providing adequately for those in need?

Secondly, the fact that people can get themselves into a situation where they are paying for fancy cars and houses beyond their means and getting themselves into such precarious financial situations that they need to rely on handouts to feed their family, shows another huge failure.

You would assume that a family living in a large house, with two cars, owned enough assets to have a reserve of money to fall back on in hard times. But the fact is, a lot of people are living with huge amounts of debt - something which is facilitated and encouraged by financial lenders. That’s the issue that needs dealing with.

So many people have such poor financial literacy that they don’t realise how, if they’re not careful, the cost of living and interest rates will soon screw them over and take every spare penny.

I was gonna say that! Does my head in when people do this!

Report them to the food bank if you feel they are taking the piss.

Not everywhere has good public transport. There are plenty of places near me that don't.

What about people on zero hours contracts who sometimes earn enough but some weeks barely have enough to cover rent/mortgage and electricity. If they're a carer going to people's homes, for instance, they absolutely need the car. The real scandal is that jobs like this exist not that people sometimes need help.

And the whole of Europe doesn't have good public transport, or even the whole of UK my Dad lives about 8 miles away and I don't drive ,so sometimes I get the bus which is three buses , even though they are fairly regular if I miss a connection the journey can take up too two hours.

And potentially make someone's life feel that little bit more shittier and desperate? 🙄 🥲

Mind your own business.

You don’t know the circumstances.

I have a ‘big fancy house’ (built in 1510), two other smaller ones, a smart flat in London, eight cars, two children at private schools, and yet am occasionally short of cash.

I’m no expert on economics, but do sometimes wonder if there’s a connection. 😀

It got so bad last year I had to sell my helicopter, and one of the Lamborghinis. Life is hard sometimes.

Honestly - I think more needs to be done to ensure food banks are accessed just by people who really need it.

I’ve accessed a food bank in the past because quite literally I had no money to feed my kids - single parent, massively in debt, low income and during covid so also on furlough. I can’t even express how grateful I was - I was so overwhelmed I burst into tears collecting our food the first time.

Now I don’t need to - completely turned my life around, I’m on 4 times my old salary, no debt. I haven’t claimed a single benefit, not even child benefit, for 4 years. I do know how lucky I am to have achieved this - it was really hard - and it’s not a brag but it leads to my next point

I could access the food bank right NOW if I wanted to. It’s self referral. How many people are accessing it who don’t need the help???!! And how many others who really do, aren’t getting the help they need?

Exactly. And for all we know, the alleged family that the OP is on about may only have 1 car. She can't seem to make up her mind how many cars they have in her one and only post. 🙄 Could be 1 for all we know!

People using food banks don't get it as a 'regular thing' It's not their weekly grocery shop

They get a box of 'basics' with enough to make a meal with for three days. And basics can be very basic, we're not talking high-end here (mostly, unless some are very generous)

And if they're 'lucky' they can pick something form the Special shelf, which might be a bar of chocolate, or a deodorant. Or sanitary towels.

So please don't think it's a lifestyle choice. And in most areas you have to be referred. You don't just swan in.

Even on the outskirts of London there are plenty of places where public transport is not viable and two cars pay possibly be needed.

However, unless the house is mortgaged up to the hilt, they should be taking out a secured loan and taking steps to sell the house unless the crisis is short term. Food banks are for genuinely poor people.

This is reminiscent of the many benefit bashing threads.

You don’t use a food bank because you bought a car and have less money, if someone was going to put themselves in that position they shouldn’t buy the car!!
However if someone already has a couple of cars and a nice house and then income changes or circumstances happen then yes food banks should be available

I might be old fashioned but I would live within my means, if I cant afford food I can't afford a big house and 3 cars.

This is not true in my area. Some people are on six months referrals and we have no idea of the value of their house. To be fair most are in rented properties but there are many who are not.

You realise people can be fine when they buy a big house and 3 cars but pesky life circumstances can get in the way like a job loss, illness, suddenly becoming a one income family instead of two as one person leaves, right?!

Remarkable how many people here KNOW the exact workings of foodbanks and the awful people who use them despite never probably having been near one, what with their 6 figure salaries and sense of superiority

Well yeah, if you're capable of unmortgaging yourself overnight you shouldn't be using a foodbank. But most people can't, can they?

If you couldn't afford food ,your not going to be buying a big fancy house and buying three cars are you?
But shit happens and circumstances can an does change.