Food banks

[Tiredboymum22]

When is it acceptable to use a food bank?

Is it only when you have no money left for food or when you need to cover other household costs?

Does anything go to waste or is it all used up by families in need?

Our utility bills have gone up. We have a load of rubbish in the garden that needs collecting but I have no car. It’s also overrun with weeds and brambles and I thought I’d have time to do it but I have a toddler and child with additional needs, and no village!

I want to pay someone to collect the bins and sort the garden out so the kids can play in the summer, but I’m on a tight budget and I’m worried it’ll cut into our food budget.

We've used a food bank once and it was during the delay of applying for benefits and actually getting it we had nothing. I wouldn't use one if I had a choice

Probably would gradually sort the garden yourself and leave the money for food and bills.

Can you book a cab to take the rubbish to the dump?

If you plan in advance you might get someone with a van/big car with wipeable covers at the back, bag it all up neatly

Have you posted on nextdoor to ask someone for help, pay a bit of petrol money or a box of chocs to pay back?

I can't see taxis being happy to be used as tip run vehicles! Not like they'll let you get in with a few rubble sacks and go to the tip or whatever.
You usually need a permit to get into the dump anyway.

There’s a community pantry near me, no referral needed. Anyone can go and you just put in a small donation.

You only donate to a food banik because "children " maybe donate to a children's charity instead if helping them is your goal, men also struggle with food poverty, I volunteered at a food bank/project and single men would definitely need food.

Which is why I said plan in advance and see if there is a vehicle that would be happy to be used

OP doesnt say what sort of rubbish it is in any case

OP would be the one booking it in at the dump anyway, although in our area you need the reg number which is a bit annoying

Agree. I've done this a couple of times for people.

As a one off I don’t think this is a problem. You’re doing something for the benefit of your dc it’s not like you’re buying drink then expecting food. I used to work in a food bank we never checked people finances and didn’t judge.

Agree, anyone can be in need of food - male, female, children.
You can't dictate who you want to help eat that week and those you don't.
I mean you can, but you'd be a bit of a knob.

I work for a charity for the elderly ( well over 50's ! ) and at times we run a food bank. It's just give out when people ask. No questions asked as to why they need it but we do offer a full benefit check. Most of those needing help are referred from the team who support people with dependency issues but we don't judge.

so how do you ensure they go to people who can'T afford food because they don't have enough money, and people like the OP who want to use their money to pay for a gardener?

(for OP: perhaps you can advertise on a local fb group or something for help with your garden in return for something you could do for them? like clean their bathroom/kitchen/house in return?)

Most foodbanks you need a referral, the process of getting a referral checks for genuine need.

We have community fridges, designed more to keep food from landfill that are open to anyone despite your financial status.

What type of mess is in your garden, is it stuff that could go out in your household bin or do you definitely need a 'man with a van'.

Are there metal items, put out the front of your property and advertise on Facebook/social media, a scrap man will come and collect free of charge.

I often see requests for helping clearing gardens, etc on our local community facebook page. Is that something you could try first, rather than cutting into your food budget?

The world is full of friendly people. You might find someone willing to help you out.

i mean, i agree with pp that if you donate to a food bank (as i do) then you don't get to say who it goes too.

But i also don't want to donate to somewhere that just says "oh, ok here's a bag of stuff" without even asking why they need it, IYSWIM?

They really don't ive been offered food banks referrals a few times and I've declined. I was poor but had plenty of money for food

Broadly speaking, its when you have no money for food after other essentials. So your choice is heating or eating, eating or rent etc.
Often when you approach the FB, particularly the big ones like Trussell, they will say you need to speak to someone to get a voucher.
They will then ask you questions about your situation to identify if you qualify. I would expect if you told them you wanted to spend the money on the rubbish removal, they may say, buy food instead, unless it was a threat to health, rats etc. However, they may not have the time to do this, or the volunteer may not be so rigorous, and you may just get handed the voucher.
It really depends on the particular FB.
If I were you though, if you're even considering the FB, I'd seek some advice to see if you're entitled to any other help, maximising income, reducing debt repayments etc. If you're on a very low income, there may be grants to help with things like the rubbish. Citizens Advice can be a good place to start.

It is just odd to want to dictate or decide where you think your "hard earned" money should go, donate or not but don't expect your tin of beans to go to a hungry child, I honestly think some people don't understand vulnerable people and poverty.

@AngryHerringwe don’t know.
we ask, what’s causing this recent hardship but there are no formal checks

if they say cost of living, or benefit delay or husband bet it all on the horses they are considered in need and vouchers are provided

the only ‘rules’ are how many you can have, it can’t be week after week. I think it’s 2 in any 6m period

We have a smaller local foodbank/larder in our area that we donate to weekly. You don’t need a referral for it as its ethos is to cut down on food waste as well as provide food for people in need. Is there anything like this near you OP? I used to donate to a national one but stopped when I asked for more information on it and discovered that they only provided 3 food packages per family a year and didn’t give any more after that.

It’s also overrun with weeds and brambles and I thought I’d have time to do it but I have a toddler and child with additional needs, and no village!

No but you do have a husband.

Why can he not do it or you could do it together?

gosh thanks - 2 in 6 months seems very few and that really reinforces my (possibly misguided?) personal reasons for wanting to be sure that my donations go to a responsible foodbank that isn't going to just hand over food with barley a check.

I also think that a lot of us have personal "red lines" or reasoning that seem normal or reasonable to us, but not to others. For eg i will often give homeless people money (if you see them often, you tend to know who they are and where they will be) and often offer to get them food or whatever. I get criticism from some people i know for that because "nobody here needs to be homeless".

So thanks for answering, i have no idea about foodbanks beyond that i donate food. Which makes me very lucky, i know.

This has been argued about before on here.

foodbanks are different to community pantry’s and food wastage places.

foodbanks in date food, often refer needed, depending on area. Donations often from individuals.

pantry, to reduce landfill, perfectly good food needing used. donations usually come direct from supermarkets short dated produce.

get onto Facebook OP and search for local area options.

also look at community support and networks.

can you offer something? Walk a dog or help someone in exchange for a van run to tip.

I work in a shop where we have a trolley to donate to the food bank and their are a few people usually women around 60 years old who will buy a few tins of the value stuff and then really loudly so everyone can hear tell you about how they are donating to feed the poor kids