DH is using community pantry for free food

[cookingaroast]

There is a community pantry in our village, with the purpose being to cut food waste. I completely support cutting down on food waste, and the food provided is all from supermarkets who would otherwise throw the food out. My issue is more I'm a bit uncomfortable with us taking the food.
We are both in the tech industry and both fall into the higher tax bracket for our salaries, more than capable of paying for food ourselves.

I've said to DH I don't think we should be utilising this resource and leave the food for others who need it more than us but he loves the bargains (free food) he gets from it. He genuinely wants to show off the stuff he's picked up whenever he goes - which is usually once a week.

I guess I feel a bit uncomfortable that this free food could be a lifeline to people. I do like charity shopping and getting a bargain but I don't feel as bad, as I'm paying what they decide they feel it's worth and the money is going to charity. This is completely free and run by volunteers.

That doesn't sound like what OP's husband went to, nor all the other community pantries most other posters are describing.

I think people are not understanding that this is not a food bank but a zero waste place to stop food going to landfill. We have one locally and they often still have food left at the end of the day, its for everyone and the aim is to cut food waste

Yes, I've been involved from the very beginning and we've been going for nearly 10 years now.

I appreciate it's area dependent and varies from Fridge to Fridge, but we're able to cover costs from financial donatione from our visitors so haven't needed to write a funding bid apart from the one written to set the Fridge up.

Community pantry’s are for everyone and everyone has the right to help prevent food waste.

food banks are for people who are struggling and I think you need some proof? I’m not sure though and apologies for my ignorance. I’m in a fortunate position not to have needed one yet.

I think as long as he’s being sensible and not rushing in and taking it all(!!) then it’s fine!

Yes and no.

We run slow cooker workshops. We run "grow your own" schemes. The funding bids say how important it is to combat social isolation and build community spirit. We have CAB too. The food hub is a tiny bit of a large charity I run. We host the NHS, local authorities, banking pop ups, all sorts. We've got a community allotment, gardens, all sorts.

Yes, on paper that's what the food hubs are. And yes, to get the money in, you create things these courses. And 5% of the users are there to be shown how to make a stew, and they wouldn't be there at all if they weren't getting a free slow cooker at the end of it. But they do. And it's nice. And the funders get their pictures.

95% of our users need food because they don't want to be seen at a food bank. That's not to say they don't recognise that they are also reducing food waste, but that's more of a coincidental benefit, and a helpful disguise for why they are there.

We actually had to move our community fridge because some greedy women who went to a morning "legs bums and tums" class would grab anything they could on their way past. They would clean it out, every week on that particular day. Having just paid £10 for a leisure class, at a time most people in work, would be working, they'd shamelessly stuff their bags, out of view. Then, someone else who'd been working all day, on minimum wage, struggling, would come in at 5pm, need food, and there would be none.

We support just under 6,000 people in our area.

So just so I have this clear. Your organisation lies to the people who provide them donations (& funding) about what their charitable goals are and you work for them and are comfortable sharing that on a social media site? Just that sounds odd.

Try reading my last post.

In a way it is good that he shows that the food there isn't beneath him and that the high earners are happy to eat it.

It depends on what is the local demography. If there are many struggling families around, it would be better if the food was for them first. If there is enough to support the local poor people, than it is really about reducing food waste, and more affluent people joining in, getting some food from time to time and donating a bit of money to the charity will do more good than not going there at all.

@XenoBitch

Sorry, that's a "yes and no" to all of what you wrote, not directly as a response to "would I be judged if I turned up for the first time".

No. You wouldn't.

I agree it depends on whether he's taking food intended for people that are struggling or whether he's reducing food waste by buying end of life food that would've otherwise been wasted. What's the general demographic of the other users?

Food banks more often have long-life items like tinned goods, packets, etc. and are short on fresh foods. They can also be difficult to access (some are by referral from statutory agencies) and only provide food for 2 or 3 days. The ones in my area limit provision to 3 times a year, so they are only really good for emergency rations, not ongoing food poverty. A lot of people therefore rely on getting fresh food, and sometimes tins etc., if they're lucky, from food pantries. Those usually say they are to cut down on food waste, which is great, but people who rely on them to feed themselves and their children end up without if people who can afford food take the goodies instead. Whatever the scheme is called.

Tell you husband to volunteer there for a couple of months as payback for all the freebies, to see who is using it. He may then understand that there are many desperate people who need it more for survival than he needs his 'bargain rush'. He can get that elsewhere.

This doesn't sound like what most people here are talking about.
Most are not actively fundraising/registered charities - they are run entirely by volunteers. They only offer food, not classes etc and they do supervise what individuals take.

Our one is only open for a couple of hours a day (different time every day...they post on FB), and very likely is inaccessible for those most in need, but that's just how it is at the moment. I've said upthread that they are considering registering as a charity - maybe it will then open at more regular times and reach more people who would benefit most.

Are you working with your food bank to make it more accessible to the 95% of your clients? Why does going to your hub not have the same stigma as going to the food bank?

I’ve read all of them. You seem to be saying both that you say you are combating stigma by mentioning it’s about food waste in your advertising and that to get funding you have to say you are working to combat food waste as that’s what funding is available for. Really though you want to combat food poverty and everyone should infer that and understand you have to say it’s about combating food waste to get the funds. Then the interaction with someone who works for a different branch is suggesting you even recruit volunteers to work for you on the basis you are working to reduce food waste but really you want to do something else and you don’t even tell them that. It just sounds a bit implausible honestly. My husband volunteers for our local one predominantly on the basis he’s a keen environmentalist and reducing food waste is something he genuinely cares about. If it’s not really operating for that purpose maybe he’d rather volunteer somewhere else that’s more closely aligned with his goals and than somewhere where the family & friends he’s encouraging to use the service are in fact unwelcome and sneered at for believing the local hub when it says it’s committed to reducing food waste.

its all quite disingenuous.

I mean there is nothing wrong with having two aims but to go to the extent that you don’t even tell your volunteers what your real aims are seems almost unbelievable. I guess there is no real way of knowing though if someone posting online is genuine or just saying what suits them to give support to their own argument. Obviously that applies to me and anyone else who mentions they or a friend or a relative volunteers too 🤷🏼‍♀️

This, absolutely. Then he can be a real hero, not just a good waste hero..

The 27 that I liaise with locally range from almost non existent little set ups in church archways, to small sheds and cabins, right up to us, and bigger. Other than the three that are more just like unattended stands and tables in churches and village halls, they all offer classes or some kind of activity. Again, not that you'd necessarily know, because often, no one attends.

Our food bank is a bit of a joke, they aren't interested in working with anyone, lest they lose any of the enormous amounts they are donated to the other cause. It's frustrating to say the least.

Going to a hub is entirely of your own discretion and choosing. You don't have the embarrassment of having to, for example, phone your local councillor and say you can't afford to eat, please can you have a referral. If you're at the food bank, and someone sees you, you know why. One of our users said how she was given a voucher to take to the food bank then stood queuing outside for anyone to see. Then it was "right, three items off that shelf, two off there and one of those bags...next!" like she was on a conveyor belt. Like you, it's only open a few hours a week, so it's concentrated activity. If you're at our hub, you might be there because you've come to see the CAB. Or because you care deeply about reducing food miles. It's discrete. We're open nearly all day, every day, so the chances of you bumping into someone you know is far less. And if you feel embarrassed about needing support, you can sign up for whatever activity is running at the time as your reason to be there. Turn up to discover how to grow tomatoes, but while you're here, may as well take some food...

but while you're here, may as well take some food...
That doesn't sound like a suitable solution for people eligible to use a food bank.
Do clients need to visit most days or a number of your hubs in order to get enough for a family for a few days?

Your food bank sounds chaotic - def not Trussell Trust

You only have to spend a day in an active food hub to observe exactly what the users are there for.

Not a place that hands out a bag of carrots and apples once a week for an hour. Because yes, that is about tiny distribution of tiny surplus, where, for example, someone's apple tree was very productive that month. It's not feeding families.

The dinky one in a church archway is very much like this. And no one operates that. It's kind of like an honesty box, but for free. The local school donate their after harvest festivals, but other than that, it's just the odd bits of veg from someone's garden. Maybe 5-10 people visit a week, if that.

Excusing the pun, but comparing this to a food hub that actually feeds people meals/full ingredients is somewhat apples to pears.

Sad that you have to claim "made up, unbelievable" to anything that doesn't agree with your narrative.

I'd say it really depends on your local area. In some communities what he is doing might be fine, in others not so much. The only way to know for sure is for him to volunteer there to really get a feel for whether what he is doing is appropriate. As others have said, he can still take things if he does this, if there is anything available once people in need have visited.

And there are probably seasonal variations and variations based on what grows well in your area. Where I live, it would be fine for anyone to take zucchini because they grow really well and everyone is always trying to give them away. Again, by volunteering he will get a better understanding of this.

At ours there’s a collection box for the food bank so those on higher incomes can reduce food waste but not feel awkward

Sigh. We're not a food bank. Nor chaotic.

It's a very suitable solution. I'm not sure which part you think isn't. Someone who wouldn't access a food bank through embarrassment of either obtaining the referral or through being seen, can access food here.

You can take enough for several meals for one family in one go. Probably two visits a week would be sustainable, but we don't have enough to support that level of visits.

Our community pantry is at the “big local” which offers loads of community classes and initiatives. It’s open 5 days a week and gets loads of food from the coop, M&S and Sainsbury’s. We’ve donated lots to it over the years including money and furniture and I think it’s a great community resource. You seem to be saying with your posts though that I must be deluded because that’s not how these things are really supposed to work and I should know that. I’m sorry but if it’s true that all food hubs/community pantries operate as yours does then I find it utterly bizarre they aren’t even honest to their volunteers about their purpose. Or are they honest and it’s just that your particular hub operates in one way and others operate in a different one. It absolutely does not fit my narrative that a charity lies to donors, volunteers & the general public about its purpose. I think a lot of people would find that bizarre.

It sounds like it's a community scheme that you pay for to combat food waste not a food bank.

If that's all you are determined to hear, despite what's written down, there's very little I can do about that.