We still give to the food bank (a monthly DD to the Trussel trust and ad hoc food donations to our local food bank), but it's with a sense of unease.
We have close friends who volunteer at our local food bank. Several men who seem to be alcoholics have gone there regularly for years. They receive benefits, but presumably use that to buy alcohol rather than food. Their drinking problems became noticeably worse when the food bank was there to give them free food.
There are also a number of parents who smoke while in the queue, in front of their children. Again, presumably they spend their money on cigarettes whilst others are donating food to them.
We certainly couldn't afford to donate what we do if we had expensive habits like that. And I hate the idea that I'm contributing towards enabling not just laziness and dependence, but also addiction, anti-social behaviour, and harm to children's health.
We continue to give to the food banks, partly because we know there are people in genuine need, and partly because my husband is I guess softer hearted than I am! And - incidentally - we've done a fair bit of practical work to help hedgehogs locally, although not by any regular financial donations.
But the unintended consequences of food banks concern me. Our town also had community fridges, where you can donate a suggested £2.50 (but don't have to), and take a share of food early on, or at the end an enormous amount of food - whatever would otherwise get wasted. It's open to anyone, but more effort than the food bank because the food is less predictable, and includes lots of fresh, slightly beyond best food.
Today I went at the end and took 5kg potatoes, several loaves of bread, 2kg carrots, 4 cabbages, 3 dozen tomatoes and a few other things. I tend to share some with friends and neighbours, but use lots and preserve the rest in various ways. I rarely see the long-term foodbank regulars at the community fridge, and sometimes cynically wonder if it's because it's more effort, and perhaps beneath them because some things are past their best. It seems madness that there's food going straight to be composted today (i couldn't practically take it all), whilst tomorrow we'll be buying tinned food requested by the food bank.
Yes, I know that living in poverty is exhausting and that not everyone has the same capacity to cook/preserve food etc. But my past includes addiction and a period of grinding poverty, and those experiences increase my concern about the effect foodbank rather than decreasing it.