Food Banks

[fallen-archie]

A parliamentary committee have today reported that food banks are opening up at the rate of two a week. Many children are going hungry due to delays in benefit payments. There are a growing number of people struggling to cope having insufficient to live on. This against a background of a growing obesity problem. So what is going on are we in a down wood spiral or is it perhaps more to do with an imbalance in the cost of living with housing ang energy costs taking to much of the basic wage.

[joe_bloggs*]

It's all well and good talking about cookery programes,nutritious meals etc,but when some people do not even have any gas left to cook with,it's immaterial really isn't it?
My partner volunteers at a local credit union which has been a godsend for people especially at this time of year,but you know what,contrary to popular belief,people are not requesting loans for big telly's,holidays abroad,etc,but for loans to pay gas and electric bills,and food! Yes food in one of the worlds richest countries,the local Sainsburys have been excellent in helping out with food,which the credit union tries to distribute fairly,but of course it's not enough.People are not just turning up because their stocks of mung beans are running low,no,the cupboard is literally bare,and get this-amongst the free food scroungers are working people,Families who have nothing left after paying high rents,etc,try telling them that after watching Jamie Oliver or Kirsty etc,they'll be able to manage and their life will be better,because it won't,and it will get a whole lot worse if Osborne is in charge of the economy come next may,as he has promised more cuts to the social security budget at the same time as promising tax cuts for the better off,No,keep on blaming the immigrants or the least well off for their misfortune,Let them eat porridge

[fallen-archie]

It is not about trivialising a situation, if it were possible to focus upon those who had the greatest need that would be great however those on the next rung would also feel hard done by. I don't know what the answer is but I do want to live in a fair and just society one which allows people themselves to manage their own lives, those who cannot should not be excluded..

[malacandran]

I suppose hardly anyone here, has actually been to one of these "food banks".  That's because we're intelligent enough to arrange our lives without having to beg for food.  Most people can manage that, by our own efforts.  We don't need to suck from others.

I mean, honestly!  The United Kingdom is a fabulously rich country to live in.  We have everything we need.  No competent person actually has to beg for food in the UK.   If anyone does so, it can only be for one of these reasons:

1.  Stupidity

2.  Drink

3.  Drugs

4.  Being an illegal immigrant

These reasons are all shameful.  They shouldn't be allowed. They don't in the least justify UK "food banks".

Shouldn't proper citizens of the UK, real people who work,  get rid of food banks, and only give food to people who work for their living?

[joe_bloggs*]

"I mean, honestly!  The United Kingdom is a fabulously rich country to live in.  We have everything we need.  No competent person actually has to beg for food in the UK."
So all the people queuing up at the food banks are incompetent? Give it a rest and listen to some real people's experiences,like this man:
http://audioboom.com/boos/2713731-such-a-heartbreaking-call-the-man-too-poor-to-eat

All this let them eat porridge statements reminds me of the story of some titled lady or other lecturing To a group of women in Londons east end during WW11 on how to make a meal from fisheads,after her lecture she asked for any questions,a women at the back shouted,yes,who ate the rest of the fish?
 

[suzieseaside]

All sorts of reasons can lead to people having no money and even if they are entitled to benefits the payment delays can be long.

Maybe if you read some of the examples about people who need food banks on the Trussell Trust website you might not be so harsh in your judgement of those in need.

http://www.trusselltrust.org/real-stories

[astrologica]

That may sound a bit strong, but it actually has a ring of truth. You can add another reason to that list.....
No 5. Irresponsibility.
Many people, some without partners, go ahead and have children without actually asking themselves 'How am I going to feed, clothe, and put a roof over this child's head?'
Lack of self-responsibility is one-off the scourges of this nation.

[cee-dee]

Is the clue to the "difficulty" some find themselves in to be found in your word "competent"?

Various solutions have been tried over the centuries and the following is one. I hope people have sufficient attention-span to read it all properly rather than skimp though it :-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workhouse

[malacandran]

Suzie, I took a quick look at the link, but it only seemed to show incompetent people.  

[malacandran]

That's right, and other nations too.  Especially in Africa. They keep pumping out kids. Which will starve, except for "Live Aid" and such.

Actually, I think our patience is coming to an end about that.  

[fallen-archie]

I suppose the question to ask is whether the abolishing of workhouses and introduction of benefits has borne fruit. I am torn between a scheme which assists the truly needy who through no fault if their own cannot get by at that time or should everyone be made to give something ie labour in return.
As for people being incompetent well that title can be given to many in our society who get by very well thank you.

[al**bear]

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@malacandran wrote:

I suppose hardly anyone here, has actually been to one of these "food banks".  That's because we're intelligent enough to arrange our lives without having to beg for food.  Most people can manage that, by our own efforts.  We don't need to suck from others.

I mean, honestly!  The United Kingdom is a fabulously rich country to live in.  We have everything we need.  No competent person actually has to beg for food in the UK.   If anyone does so, it can only be for one of these reasons:

1.  Stupidity

2.  Drink

3.  Drugs

4.  Being an illegal immigrant

These reasons are all shameful.  They shouldn't be allowed. They don't in the least justify UK "food banks".

Shouldn't proper citizens of the UK, real people who work,  get rid of food banks, and only give food to people who work for their living?

---

Total and utter balderdash

In nearly all cases you need to be sent to a foodbank by an agency or even your Doctor - unlike the myth that you just drop in.

The massive rise in Foodbank use is due to the broken Benefit system and the draconian cutting or stopping of payments for minuscule infractions of 'the new Rules'. Masses of people get sanctioned, the Government refuse to release those figures. People waiting on even starting to get benefits or those who have not been paid because of mistakes.

Councils and the DWP(DHSS) used to have systems for giving emergency aid, these have either been cut completely or slashed so they only help a very few. Councils yearly emergency budgets run out after a few months now.

Another massive group of people who are skint and have to visit FBs are the wage Slaves now FORCED to take 'zero hours' contracts

The DWP also use Foodbanks as fall back, instead of sorting out mistakes or delays in paying benefits (they used to give out emergency payments.

Low paid Working people are hit by rocketing private rental costs, so need aid to feed their families.

Yes we are a rich Country, one that has cut in real terms  the wages of many 100000s of the lowest paid workers by a minimum of 12%. By imposing 'wage restraint'

As usual the weakest and poorest are made to pay for the Countrys ills by a Tory government, while they give massive handouts and Tax breaks to their pals and even to the People who caused this crash in our economy

The Bankers, traders, hedgefunds, Financial Intitutions they caused the crash. not Brown/Darling etc etc (they were just idiots)

They are also helping mulitinationals (extra Tax breaks on the little Tax they pay)

[Anonymous]

Thank you Al.

Unless you have been so unlucky to have to rely on benefits, some of you have really no idea what is going on.

It's disgusting. We have been there and not because of incompetence or stupidity. The whole benefit system is a mess.

There is no communication, forms and personal data go missing all the time, enormous delays in receiving any money, totally incompetent people working at the housing benefit and job centres. They can't read properly most of the time, nor listen when you phone them.  It's a nightmare. If people think it's easy to get benefits, they should try it for a while and once you manage to get some, try to live on it.

Walk a mile in someone else's shoes before you judge people.

[kiss*my*pixel]

Malacandran - I would think if a person is unfortunate enough to have to rely on a food bank in the first place, comments such as you have made would be most unwelcome. People can find themselves very down on their luck through no fault of their own and the reasons may have nothing to do with your scathing list. Absolutely nothing at all to do with "intelligence" or 'lack' thereof. People can find themselves unexpectedly as a single parent, or out of work, for whatever reason - perhaps caring for a sick or elderly relative, not within their 5-yr plan, maybe? where they had previously had a secure life, and were able to pay their grocery bills. Of course, we will always get the free-loading chancer who will try to get away with as much as possible, but for someone who is truly, genuinely down on their luck, reading comments such as yours, afraid of being castigated, then my heart goes out to them, because comments such as yours are more likely to send the genuine recipients away. Begging for Food, Sucking from Others? Really???  Well, Merry Christmas to you, too, lovely chap!

Regarding your points (2) and (3), both of these things can very often be as a result of mental health issues. Stupidity Your point (1) is all relative, and in the eye of the beholder, in any given situation, in life in general, whichever country or culture it may be. There are some very stupid people who post on forums such as this, for instance. But that is for other posters to think, and not to judgementally decide that person's future because of it

An 'illegal immigrant' point (4) I would think, be unable to gain free access to a regulated foodbank, because, as someone previously said, you need some sort of referral from a GP, an illegal immigrant would not be registered with a GP.

[upthecreekyetagain]

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@malacandran wrote:

I suppose hardly anyone here, has actually been to one of these "food banks".  That's because we're intelligent enough to arrange our lives without having to beg for food.  Most people can manage that, by our own efforts.  We don't need to suck from others.

I mean, honestly!  The United Kingdom is a fabulously rich country to live in.  We have everything we need.  No competent person actually has to beg for food in the UK.   If anyone does so, it can only be for one of these reasons:

1.  Stupidity

2.  Drink

3.  Drugs

4.  Being an illegal immigrant

These reasons are all shameful.  They shouldn't be allowed. They don't in the least justify UK "food banks".

Shouldn't proper citizens of the UK, real people who work,  get rid of food banks, and only give food to people who work for their living?

---

Why should it be necessary to 'justify UK "food banks"? - we should be encouraging their expansion!

It is the 'real people who work' that are responsible for the profligate waste of food in this country,

Some of the waste is just plain crazy - have you ever bought a sandwich in a supermarket or garage and wondered what happens to the crusts? - most sandwich makers actually bin the crusts as well as the first slice of the loaf from each end. Big retailers throw away millions of pounds worth of food that has passed its best before date but which is still perfectly edible - tons of food caught in the supply chain go to landfill because it would cost more to unpackage and feed to animals - farmers plough back crops which don't match the specification required by the big retailers regarding shape and external blemishes. Then once the food does get to the consumer we throw much of it away,

The latest estimate is that we throw away about 15 million tons of food each year, half from the supply chain and half from our homes, about a quarter of a ton of food for every man woman and child.

We need more social supermarkets and food banks to use up some of this waste - not fewer.

[joe_bloggs*]

The community shop appears a good idea

"Community  Shop will work on a membership basis. There will be 750 members, all living locally and on income support. Members can shop for surplus food at 70 per cent cheaper than usual prices, from leading supermarkets, other major retailers and top brands, including Marks and Spencer, Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, The Co-operative, Ocado, Innocent, Brake Brothers, Nestlé and Muller"

It is estimated that around 3.5 million tonnes of food is wasted every year in the UK, before it even reaches people’s shopping basket, with about 10 per cent of that figure good enough to be eaten – because it is simply in damaged packaging or has been mislabelled. In other cases, food has simply been over-ordered. But instead of being used to feed people, some of this surplus is sent to landfill, fed to animals, or turned into energy through anaerobic digestion. Community Shop demonstrates why this need not be the case.

http://community-shop.co.uk/news/giving-surplus-food-social-purpose.aspx

[fallen-archie]

Part of the problem is predicting week in week out what people will choose to buy. It is far easier predicting spend than it is predicting what would achieve that spend. It also very very hard to predict which products with a short shelf life will sell through. If you have no goods on the shelf you won't sell, if you do have goods then you still might not sell, therefore waste is an unfortunate consequence of modern society. The public prefer and are encouraged to eat fresh, that being the case we must accept some waste, at what point therefore should it be written off?

[joe_bloggs*]

The British Cafe that has Fed 10,000 People, using 20 Tonnes of Unwanted Food

https://hwaairfan.wordpress.com/page/2/

"Mr Smith says The Real Junk Food Project – which is in the process of being registered as an official charity – is about more than simply feeding those who might otherwise go hungry"

“It is bringing people from different demographics together that doesn’t involve money. People are opening Junk Food Projects because they have had enough of what is going on in society and care about what is happening to other human beings,”

Andy McNab, local outreach coordinator for St Peter’s Church in Shipley, who is running the cafe, said:

“We want to debunk some of the stereotypes about the people who use food banks. The reality is anybody can end up using one. It doesn’t take anything to get into a place where someone ends up losing their job and their social networks weren’t as strong as they thought they were to fall into food crisis. It can happen very suddenly.”