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.

There are food banks run by charities where you have to show proof that you are low income and struggling. There are other places where people give away close to use by date food and you don’t need to show anything. We have ‘food lockers’ where close to use by date food is placed and anyone can take it, it’s to help reduce food waste….not just for people who can’t afford food. There’s also things like the Olio app and good to go app which are great.

OP, I am a care to 2 disabled adult dc, sometimes things are tight (like now), I did register with a food bank a while ago but I haven’t had to use it. I have used the ‘good to go app’ and I have helped myself to a local food locker that was full of bread. I am constantly looking for a bargain so I can save money so spend on things that need doing to the house/garden or to pay for clothes.

Get the garden sorted, it will mean the dc have somewhere safe to play. Just live fungal for a few weeks….and get a few good to go bags if you have any in your area.

Foodbanks don't allow people to take the piss, as someone who issues them I do know this, they will challenge people who use them very frequently. They do vary in terms of referrals, most in my area need a referral from an organisation, your receptionist at the gps can issue them, link workers, health visitor etc. Pantries are a good way to access cheap food, so maybe Google and see where your nearest food pantry is?

I agree with you, I didn't know this either.

On the garden front , maybe ask on social media (eg community Facebook?). I have a couple of teenagers who come and cut a hedge for pocket money maybe. It may be that you have some local entrepreneurs who may at least sort your weeds and brambles and maybe even a helpful 'man with a van' who is doing a tip run.

Food banks are regulated by the food standards authority. They have to be registered and abide by certain laws and procedures. Because of this, they are the only food provision services that public services (schools, GPs, social services etc) can officially refer to. We can advise people of other things available such as food pantry's, social supermarkets etc but we can't refer there or recommend them. Because of this food banks need a referral and they need to be very careful on what they provide to people - they have the largest share of people needing food and really need to ensure they can meet the need.

Food banks are also only for very short term need where as social supermarkets, food pantry's for more frequent use. They also can't charge even a nominal fee.

When using a food bank, other than specifying dietary requirements, user are given no choice on what they receive. This has the added advantage of reducing reliance on them. The aim is to meet immediate need, not create dependency and not to encourage people to use them.

There is a distinction between a food bank and other schemes which provide uncooked food to those in need, which operate on far fewer regulations.

This. Not asking enough questions for fear of offending is not good enough.
There may well be reasons why the person is in difficulty that they need help with. Turning a blind eye to the need for that help is unhelpful. Or finding it a bit awkward to ask is also not okay.

Surely the idea of a food bank is donating to people in need.

That means it’s acceptable for me to spend all my money on a lavish holiday and use the food banks instead of buying groceries.

I’ve never been able to afford a gardener.
I don’t get one and think fuck it I’ll just use a food bank.

There is nothing stopping OP and her DH chipping away at the garden bit by bit.

I think it’s shocking that people think hiring a gardener is more important than making sure children are fed.

To be fair, @princesspadam basically said there was zero vetting of food bank applicants, so if that’s true, it’s reasonable to assume the system is open to abuse.

I've never been in one, I thought you had to provide proof to use one, but I know of someone who takes his parents there, they aren't aren't short of money just two pensions who like freebies, and he who has a few thousands in the bank, he doesn't claim benefits,or anything, takes home lots of food items from there, so that one must let anyone use it.

Have you checked Olio?
It's a food waste app, people collect food from supermarkets, upload into the app & people request it & then collect it.
It is location dependant but if you have Tesco/Sainsbury's/co OP nearby chances are you'll have food posted.

Yes that's what I assumed was happening and that those who run food banks were making the appropriate checks to ensure it goes to the right people.

I donate to food banks sometimes, and I personally would be happy for you to help yourself. Sounds like you're going through a really rough time, I hope things get better for you, OP. Many in the same boat due to this insane CoL crisis.

You didn't know men were hungry is it not "manly" to need help 🤔

What? What a pointless response. Do you think purposely missing the point and arguing a different one makes you look clever? It's pathetic.

Wow that comment was like time travel, deserving and undeserving poor, an Inspector Calls Edwardian / Victorian attitude to charitable giving. Should they decrease the surplus population?

Where do you expect FBs to have the staff to investigate people’s circumstances? 🤦‍♀️

Its possible to see that something is problematic without being personally upset by it.
I'm not yet a 60 year old woman. But I will be. As will you if you're a woman and fortunate enough to get there.
And I don't know about you, but I'd rather that when the time comes people didn't look at me and attribute a whole bunch of stereotypes to me because of my age and sex.
By making a point saying this something 60 year old women do, for one thing, I believe you're exaggerating. Because the chances of you overhearing multiple 60 year old woman saying the same thing, while all donating cheap tins is very slim. You are exaggerating to present it as a pattern.
In doing do, you paint a picture of older women as performative do gooders. They are not generous (you tell us they buy the cheapest tins) and they are doing it for the kudos (they announce it loudly).
This stereotype is the same one that has people sneering and belittling older women who work in charity shops, foodbanks, who do volunteer work in a variety of contexts, and without whose unpaid labour our society would be a great deal worse off.

OP are you aware there are food banks, surplus food membership clubs, good to go app and other surplus food schemes…apart from food banks which may have referral rules the rest are free for anyone in any circumstances to use 🌅

Not the ones near me - the purpose of it is to reduce food waste, not to be a resource for those in poverty. In our fairly prosperous suburb, it's definitely used by doctors and lawyers and social workers of my acquaintance.

But, like charity shops who exist to make money for their cause but a side benefit is affordable clothing, community pantries also can be a source of cheap food for those on a tight budget.

Olio is free and is usually things like vegetables/fresh produce which is exactly what you can make meals from.

This - and I think if you get a referral, you're eligible (both technically and morally) to use the service. We all need help from time to time!

I am responding to you responding to another poster about not knowing where her foodbank donations go they were handwringing about hungry children and feeding bone idle men, which you agreed with, i was certainly not trying to be "clever".

A fiver is not “plenty of money” left for food. It barely gets you bread and milk these days.

A food bank where you need a referral would be something I used as a last resort as some people really do have no food at all.

In your situation, I would see if you have a community supermarket/fridge/larder in your area and if you can make use of anything there to save money. These are generally about reducing food wastage and open to everyone. I use a community supermarket and it really helps with stretching money further. Olio is another good shout.

I would also ask on Facebook in your local area about anyone willing to help with a tip run/gardening.

That's good because you didn't come across clever at all. I will not respond to you again.

Its plenty of money in the sense you won't starve. This is why I said no when I was offered we can live on beans on toast and pasta for a week. The one time I used the food bank we had nothing