Unite union calls for parliamentary debate on rocketing foodbank usage

[joe_bloggs*]

Unite, the country’s biggest union, is leading calls for a parliamentary debate into UK hunger, as foodbanks brace themselves to feed 60,000 people this Christmas.

In backing calls for an urgent parliamentary debate on the threefold growth in foodbank usage over the past year, the union accused the government of “turbocharging inequality in Britain”, by concentrating on the interests of bankers, over people forced to use foodbanks

.

The petition, which has been proposed by Jack Monroe, writer and former foodbank user, is calling for an urgent parliamentary debate into UK hunger and the growing use of foodbanks.  It has also been supported by The Mirror and The Trussell Trust.  The petition is hosted by Change.Org, which provided the platform for successful campaigns, including ‘Keep women on English banknotes’.

The union’s call follows the launch of Unite’s Christmas fundraising appeal to support The Trussell Trust foodbank network.  The union pledged to help the charity feed a record number of people over the festive period and has already received thousands of pounds in donations from members across the country.

Unite general secretary Len McCluskey said: “This government is turbocharging inequality in Britain.  It is a disgrace that in the world’s seventh richest country, foodbanks will have to feed 60,000 people this Christmas and fed over 345,000 people, between April and September this year. 

“Cabinet ministers have been turning their back on our cost of living crisis.  While hundreds of thousands of families go without food, they have been cozying up to bankers, who are set for another year of bumper bonuses. 

“It’s time that the government faced up to the crisis it is causing.  That’s why we are calling for a proper debate on the explosion in demand for foodbanks and followed up with real action. 

“We are proud that Unite members are coming together this year to raise money that will help feed kids in their communities, but we all know that this shouldn’t be the preserve of charity and goodwill.  The government is failing in its most basic duty to its citizens and must address food poverty without delay.”

ENDS

Petition:  http://www.change.org/petitions/parliament-debate-uk-hunger-and-rise-in-foodbank-use-jackspetition

[tommy.irene]

Its rob the poor and give to the rich.. 

[lhasa.two]

I have signed the petition.

Although I agree that it's shocking that as the 7th richest country in the world and food bank usage has increased, it's not really the fault of the government.

This is a worldwide problem of supply and demand. Every cost  to produce food has increased which isn't helped by supermarkets (in the main) still loading their profit margins instead of maintaining prices. Most supermarkets will say they offer "value" ranges but on other products they won't reduce their profit margins. 

We could have a go at 'shaming' the supermarkets though and make complaints directly to them. I did it a couple of times in the summer. One supermarket I go to was selling fresh Bursa figs at £0.78 each - an outrageous price - when down the road a lesser known supermarket was selling exactly the same product for £0.28... I gave the buyer a real telling off but I doubt it went further than that branch but they lost a sale,  so if more people stopped buying certain items, the supermarkets would have to take note.

Some people need to be helped to see how they can manage a food budget and learn how to cook a nutritional meal on very little. The government could help make that happen but I doubt they can force supermarkets to reduce their prices. 

[*.*..lola..*.*]

I signed that petition yesterday.

Some people need to be helped to see how they can manage a food budget and learn how to cook a nutritional meal on very little.

Jack Monroe (who launched the petition) has been doing that on her blog for quite a while now:

http://agirlcalledjack.com/

She's built up quite a following...

[mustard-tree]

But do all those people using the food banks actually need to.

Or are there some who see the food banks as a way of topping up their big food shop with some freebies.

[upthecreekyetagain]

Why is it "the government's fault" that many need to use food banks.

"The Government" is us, it's not some mythical beast - what is meant when accusations are made that the government doesn't put enough into the system so that people wouldn't need to use these facilities is that we as taxpayers aren't paying enough!

Are food banks that bad an idea in any case?  Much of the produce they have to distribute would simply go to waste if the food banks weren't there.  Maybe we should be looking at nationally assisted expansion of the food bank system to reduce waste and at the same time ensure nobody goes hungry.

[lost.parrot]

Signed

Perhaps they should call in the Red Cross

17.06  04/12/13

[*.*..lola..*.*]

---

@mustard-tree wrote:

But do all those people using the food banks actually need to.

Or are there some who see the food banks as a way of topping up their big food shop with some freebies.

---

Mustard I think people have to plead their cases first to the DWP and only if they are deemed to be genuinely needy, will they be referred to a food bank.

AFAIK they are only given a few very basic food stuffs to tide them over for a few days and should they require a further visit, they have to go back to the DWP to plead again for a fresh referral.

That seems like an awful lot of humiliation and effort to me, for very little reward, especially if these people have already done a 'big shop' as you say and their cupboards are full.

Of course there will always be a small minority who try to abuse the system as there is in most things in life.

[tommy.irene]

---

@upthecreekyetagain wrote:

Why is it "the government's fault" that many need to use food banks.

"The Government" is us, it's not some mythical beast - what is meant when accusations are made that the government doesn't put enough into the system so that people wouldn't need to use these facilities is that we as taxpayers aren't paying enough!

---

We are paying enough.. but its all going to the bankers for their christmas partys..

[*.*..lola..*.*]

We are paying enough.. but its all going to the bankers for their christmas partys..

...and politicians bogus expense claims  

[upthecreekyetagain]

---

@*.*..lola..*.* wrote:

---

@mustard-tree wrote:

But do all those people using the food banks actually need to.

Or are there some who see the food banks as a way of topping up their big food shop with some freebies.

---

Mustard I think people have to plead their cases first to the DWP and only if they are deemed to be genuinely needy, will they be referred to a food bank.

AFAIK they are only given a few very basic food stuffs to tide them over for a few days and should they require a further visit, they have to go back to the DWP to plead again for a fresh referral.

That seems like an awful lot of humiliation and effort to me, for very little reward, especially if these people have already done a 'big shop' as you say and their cupboards are full.

Of course there will always be a small minority who try to abuse the system as there is in most things in life.

---

It wouldn't need to be a "humiliating" experience if we increased the number of food banks.

I don't feel humiliated when I buy cheaply from a charity shop nor do the other customers looked humiliated.

If an integrated system were put together to offer all the excess food that currently goes to waste, free to those who want to take advantage of the system 'humiliation' wouldn't enter into the equation.

http://www.foodawarecic.org.uk/food-waste-statistics.htm

According to this site £23 billion worth of food each year goes to landfill - 1/3 domestic, 1/3 producers, 1/3 from retail.

If just 10% of the waste from producers and retailers went to food banks instead that would be more than £1.5 billion worth of food!

[*.*..lola..*.*]

I don't feel humiliated when I buy cheaply from a charity shop nor do the other customers looked humiliated.

Well good for you, Creeky...how utterly patronising and insensitive you are!

There is a MASSIVE difference between someone who chooses to go into a charity shop to buy something with their OWN money and someone who is so desperately poor that they have to go cap in hand to a charity to beg for food.

You really have no idea do you, Creeky!

It's a shame because the rest of your post was excellent.

[joe_bloggs*]

"Perhaps they should call in the Red cross"

They already have: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25154086

We should be asking ourselves and this government why foodbanks are even neccessary in the first place never mind expanding them,people referred to foodbanks can only do so a few times a year,what happens inbetween these times? We have a good idea as the police are reporting a rise in shoplifting for food for the table! Some foodbanks are reporting people handing back food that needs to be heated as they cannot even afford the gas.This is real life for many people, and for many destitution is a day to day existence.For many people it is a depressing and humiliating experiece queing up for basic foodstuff.Foodbanks should be a last resort,but the state in many cases is failing to provide a basic human right

Saying that there are some decent supermarkets,I know M&S have for years supported schemes to help the needy,The Cyrenians in Newcastle benefitied from M&S goodwill,I spoke to a support worker there,and for some reason each week they got literally hundreds of bananas! M&S also donated to a rehab centre in Sunderland and apparently every Christmas they donated that many turkeys that the after the staff took there share they were also giving them away to families who were visiting their friends and relatives

According  to the Trussell Trust there will be over 200,000 food banks by the end of this year, in a supposed rich country that is a disgrace and should make us all feel ashamed

[upthecreekyetagain]

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@*.*..lola..*.* wrote:

I don't feel humiliated when I buy cheaply from a charity shop nor do the other customers looked humiliated.

Well good for you, Creeky...how utterly patronising and insensitive you are!

There is a MASSIVE difference between someone who chooses to go into a charity shop to buy something with their OWN money and someone who is so desperately poor that they have to go cap in hand to a charity to beg for food.

You really have no idea do you, Creeky!

It's a shame because the rest of your post was excellent.

---

You have completely missed the point of my post!

As you say there is a difference between going into a charity shop and using a food bank - AT THE MOMENT.

If however food banks became more commonplace and were open to all - AS I SUGGESTED IN MY POST - then there would be no sense of humiliation when using them!

Maybe if you actually read what was written then you may be less keen to jump down other's throats in such a self-righteous manner.

This is the bit of my post you cut from my post:-

"If an integrated system were put together to offer all the excess food that currently goes to waste, free to those who want to take advantage of the system 'humiliation' wouldn't enter into the equation"

[lost.parrot]

I wasn't aware they had already used the Red Cross, joe, and I wasn't aware that there was a limit on usage. Other than a temporary expediant I would have issues with them

I did assume some sort of referral scheme. 

The issue of waste is an issue in itself but I dont readily accept conflating the two. Some food donated isn't perishable or almost past sell-by-date, from the various accounts I've read and heard of, and the supermarkets ive seen, seem to be able to manage such items through price reductions. But I've no issue with better food management for it's own sake, but not as a sort of   back door policy of a revised poor law to meet semi 'religious' needs.

If all of us got our food via such food banks regardless, perhaps the notion of humiliation might not exist to the same extent, but I don't think that is what's being suggested,so I think the issue will still be outstanding, until the likes of Paul Dacre's butler start queuing for his grouse at such banks.

[lost.parrot]

tuts , almost forgot 20.20   04/12/13

[upthecreekyetagain]

It's not just perishable food that gets wasted - tons of non-perishable items past their 'best before' date are dumped every day - food that is perfectly good to eat but cannot be sold.

It's not just the retail side of the food chain where wastage occurs - wastage at the production level is equally high - currently the most economic way for the producers to dispose of this is via landfill or ploughing back into the ground - a national system of 'food banks', (or any other name you care to call them), subsidised via the taxpayer could release vast quantities of food for consumption at a very low price. 

I'm sure we would be unlikely to see the likes of "Paul Dacre's butler" using such facilities but I would guess you would be unlikely to see them at a Lidls or Aldis checkout either! 

£15 billion is a phenomenal amount of food currently being thrown away by retailers and producers - I can't see any justification for not using as much of it as possible by whatever means.

[bankhaunter]

There would be a world of difference between someone buying from a charity shop and buying cheap food from a food bank shop.

Those on very low incomes would need to qualify to buy such food otherwise there would be no way to ensure the food would be available to those it was intended to help when they needed it.

Charity shops on the otherhand aim their sales at the average buyer, the items are not necessarily sold for particularly low prices or intended to supply low incomed people.

Much food waste is short dated items which would not be suitable for sale, that's why it is waste in the first place plus a large proportion is wasted by individuals

The Trussel Trust who run 400 food banks say this.

Food is donated by schools, churches, businesses and individuals. The items are non-perishable and in-date, with many people adding an extra item from a food bank shopping list to their own family shop.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/money/personal-finance/what-food-banks-how-work-2869155

[upthecreekyetagain]

What of the tons of fresh food that is ploughed back into the ground or the billions of pounds worth of food that is dumped because it is beyond its best before date - the fresh food that can't be sold by supermarkets because it is a funny shape or has blemishes - food in damaged packaging.

I accept that there isn't the infrastructure in place to collect and distribute this food but surely it makes good sense to invest in this side of the equation rather than to just hand out cash to buy yet more food from inefficient sources.    Estimates suggest that 10 million tons of food is wasted each year, not by consumers but by producers and retailers.

The figures are massive, yet when a tiny proportion of it is used for a good cause some decry this use as a disgrace!

[*.*..lola..*.*]

Oh here we go again with the red font LOL

As you say there is a difference between going into a charity shop and using a food bank - AT THE MOMENT.

No you missed my point - There is a big difference between having your OWN money and CHOOSING to buy from a charity shop and having NO money and being FORCED to.

Charity shops may have lost a lot of the stigma attached to them but for low income families who have no choice but to buy second-hand school uniforms etc. for their kids there will always be a sense of shame and humiliation.

If however food banks became more commonplace and were open to all - AS I SUGGESTED IN MY POST - then there would be no sense of humiliation when using them!

As above..yes there would for the people who have no other options

Maybe if you actually read what was written then you may be less keen to jump down other's throats in such a self-righteous manner.

I did read what was written and I still think it was patronising and insensitive  

"If an integrated system were put together to offer all the excess food that currently goes to waste, free to those who want to take advantage of the system 'humiliation' wouldn't enter into the equation"

I do like the premise of your suggestion, Creeky as a stop-gap solution to two ever-growing problems - food wastage and the hunger issue - but not as a long term fix.