Food banks - what is the real story

[turbobloke]

pcvdriver said:

...if it was the PH way - then many of our unemployed would be chucked into workhouses like in Dickensian Times...

Having missed those threads could you offer a link or two, either that or you made it up for effect. To be "The PH Way" there would need to be loads of threads with everyone agreeing.



Made up.

[BoRED S2upid]

petemurphy said:

oooh good point forgot its asparagus season in a few weeks! yum!

I noticed last evening that our asparagus had come from Peru which is awfully kind of them to grow it all year round for us.

[NicD]

Blue Cat said:

Rich G said:

Blue Cat said:

But these days people don't have a buffer.

And surely that is part of the problem. Many probably could have a buffer but they'd rather spend the money on the latest iGadget, wall-sized TV, or leasing a couple of new cars so as to get one-up on the Jones' next door.

As always it comes down to personal priorities. A shiny new Audi, or something put away in case the next time the doorbell rings it's Mr Wolf?

And to me, it appears that people will always try to find ways of blaming the suffering rather than actually do anything to help. What size of buffer should people have - two months, six months, a year - a lot of people believe that the state will help them based on what we all read in the papers and it doesn't.

Perhaps if people didn't mock the poor in the way this forum does on occasion we would see more ordinary stories about ir, funny people on here are so open about their relationship failures but how many posts do you see about I have lost my business or I don't know how I can pay my bills - very few. it's almost like it is shameful thing to admit and ask for help.

There are good decent people suffering and most people will never see or hear about them which keeps up the myth that it is the undeserving, the fat, the stupid, that can't afford food and shelter.

so to quote you , if say 100 of 'the undeserving, the fat, the stupid, that can't afford food and shelter' are balanced by 10 or 100 or even 1000 good upstanding citizens that deservedly need help, that somehow excuses the former?
Or I forget, they are a 'myth'
Just asking.

I might well need help one day soon and I hope it is there for me, and hasn't been made so hard by the self entitled cheats who wasted their precious help and demanded ever more. Not excusing the greedy, amoral fkers who caused much of the misery, of course.

[Mr Whippy]

The whole system needs fixing for benefits.

Government just need to look at lowest earners who do a full week of work and see how they manage to live, then put those limits on the benefits systems so benefits can never work out better than working.

Ie, if 30% of income goes on food, then give vouchers for 30% of benefits for food only. No magazines, alcohol, tobacco, gambling etc.

Even the food vouchers should be limited to certain types of food to force people to cook proper meals.

If they don't like it tough luck. Society is giving them a helping hand, they should be grateful and not dismissive of any support!

[anonymous-user]

i work for a food bank 1 a month through work.

now the people that come to use one generally have a low paid job and not on benefits. can you imagine how degrading it is to use a food bank when you are working.

i sent a email out Pre Easter to work,as most of the people coming in have kids and i was going to give 20 quid for sweets and chocolates just because i felt it would be nice. Maybe 4 other people out of 50 put some in, but the thing is people don't understand what they are, they are for people literally choosing between eating and living, they can come 3 times in 6 months and there is a voucher system to weed out abusers.

i implore anyone to volunteer and spend a day it is an eye opener.

[santona1937]

Food vouchers do not work, all that happens is a black market in them develops. The US had a massive problem with this and changed to swipe cards. Did not make any diff.

[Jasandjules]

One thing I'd like to know.

How much is spent catching benefit thieves Vs Tax avoiders?

[Justayellowbadge]

Jasandjules said:

One thing I'd like to know.

How much is spent catching benefit thieves Vs Tax avoiders?

You cannot catch a tax avoider. Tax avoidance is legal.

[markh1973]

Hoofy said:

markh1973 said:

dfen5 said:

And isn't a bank somewhere where you put something in and get something out? Why not give the food out to people who've donated their time (as they're presumably jobless) to doing something for local community rather than just giving it away?

Something for nothing. Short-sighted perpetuation of a world gone mad.

A dictionary is a book that you can look up words in to discover their meaning - in your case you could have looked up bank. If you think people should do something in exchange for the food then just say so don't try and be clever first.

bank
baŋk
noun
noun: bank; plural noun: banks
1.
a financial establishment that uses money deposited by customers for investment, pays it out when required, makes loans at interest, and exchanges currency.
"a bank account"

He's right, you know.

He's not as in this case the definition of bank is "a mass or mound of a particular substance" - so the substance here is food. A definition meets his argument but not the actual difinition of bank in the phrase "food bank".

[markh1973]

Justayellowbadge said:

Jasandjules said:

One thing I'd like to know.

How much is spent catching benefit thieves Vs Tax avoiders?

You cannot catch a tax avoider. Tax avoidance is legal.

Well you can catch them but you can't do anything to them.

[Jasandjules]

Justayellowbadge said:

Jasandjules said:

One thing I'd like to know.

How much is spent catching benefit thieves Vs Tax evaders?

You cannot catch a tax avoider. Tax avoidance is legal.

Ok, see the edit..

[Justayellowbadge]

markh1973 said:

He's not as in this case the definition of bank is "a mass or mound of a particular substance" - so the substance here is food. A definition meets his argument but not the actual difinition of bank in the phrase "food bank".

I'm open to the argument, but can't believe this and find no etymological evidence.

I'm inclined to believe bank is used here as with blood and sperm, not sand.

[Pothole]

Tannedbaldhead said:

Rich G said:

Blue Cat said:

But these days people don't have a buffer.

And surely that is part of the problem. Many probably could have a buffer but they'd rather spend the money on the latest iGadget, wall-sized TV, or leasing a couple of new cars so as to get one-up on the Jones' next door.

As always it comes down to personal priorities. A shiny new Audi, or something put away in case the next time the doorbell rings it's Mr Wolf?

A friend of mine works in payrole for an Aberdeen based engineering contractor. They pay weekly rather than monthly. They struggle to get the wages processed and perdiocally miss a payment (nothing too disastrous two or three days late). When this happens compensation payments are made to anyone who incurrs expenses (bounced DDs, unauthorised overdraughts ect).
You'd think guys on £50-£60k per year would have no problems with a weekly wage being a couple of days late. Think again, compensation payments are a lot more common than you'd think. Big mortgages (houses in Aberdeen aren't cheap) and big car payments (nor are the PCP payments on a specced up Evoque)are the killers.

seems illogical to me. There income must be based on monthly payments so why not pay those higher earners monthly? Cuts down on payROLL costs, too....also I totall disagree with the thrust of your argument: I bet there are restrictions in place on things like sales commission if paperwork is (nothing too disastrous) two or three days late or if projects are brought in (nothing too disastrous) two or three days late...the employer should hold up their end of the bargain and fking pay what's owed ON TIME EVERY TIME.

Edited by Pothole on Saturday 19th April 10:35

[Countdown]

A couple of points; having worked in Payroll it doesn't surprise me how close to the edge some people live, whether it's 18 yo receptionists who spend all their pay on nights out, or 50 yo Directors juggling to meet umpteen different finance payments on house/car/credit card etc.

And payroll missing the paydate any more than once in 5 years is pretty poor tbh. Admittedly weekly payrolls are a bit more complicated but either they're short staffed or incompetent.

[Countdown]

The Spruce goose said:

i work for a food bank 1 a month through work.

now the people that come to use one generally have a low paid job and not on benefits. can you imagine how degrading it is to use a food bank when you are working.

i sent a email out Pre Easter to work,as most of the people coming in have kids and i was going to give 20 quid for sweets and chocolates just because i felt it would be nice. Maybe 4 other people out of 50 put some in, but the thing is people don't understand what they are, they are for people literally choosing between eating and living, they can come 3 times in 6 months and there is a voucher system to weed out abusers.

Well said.

[bexVN]

I am sure as with any good cause there are people who take the pISS,however I gave contributed several times to a local one. Usually a variety of ASDA smart price range rice, tinned meat, fruit, etc and even toiletries.

My reason us simple when I was 10 my parents lost their business consequently their home etc, the council were worse than useless and there weren't the easy bailouts there are now, help from a foodbank at that time would have provided some much needed help for my parents. Anyone has the potential to end up in trouble and I for one feel some relief knowing I'd have a place to get food should that ever be me!

Edited by bexVN on Saturday 19th April 10:57

[Pothole]

smegmore said:

Let's hope that none of yooz upper class fkers choke on your asparagus tips whilst you're pontificating about the individuals in this fair land who have nothing to eat (and they do exist) but are too proud to ask for state help.

You are all only 2 weeks away from anarchy (your Range Rovers and Audis will be worth fk all) should the balloon go up, don't forget that. the ones who had nothing to start with are the most likely to survive...

Do be quiet, you class war fool. Those of us with well-equipped tool sheds and garages are far more likely to 'survive'. I agree that there's been a fair bit of 'considerably richer than yow' 'the peasants are revolting' bullst on this thread, but then that's SOP for the aspirational fantasists on this forum. Those of us in the real world still despise the scumbag system abusers who give the genuinely needy a bad name, but let's not pretend the divide is either so wide or so clear as you appear to be painting it. Very few people posting on here are anything like 'upper class'. Nouveau riche at a push.

[bexVN]

petemurphy said:

they should get tv cameras to follow the people who go there to see where/how they live. all for delivering free food to old people who are struggling but if you're young enough go get a job and sterilised.

Bristol local tv did this. Seeing a guy open his fridge in his tiny flat to reveal nothing in it was quite sad. He had had a drugs background but was now clear, had alienated family and was struggling to find his way in the real world, he was a decent guy. As a result of help from the foodbank (which he had a several mile walk to get to as no money for a bus) he was able to concentrate on finding a job rather than how to eat.

[Pothole]

bexVN said:

petemurphy said:

they should get tv cameras to follow the people who go there to see where/how they live. all for delivering free food to old people who are struggling but if you're young enough go get a job and sterilised.

Bristol local tv did this. Seeing a guy open his fridge in his tiny flat to reveal nothing in it was quite sad. He had had a drugs background but was now clear, had alienated family and was struggling to find his way in the real world, he was a decent guy. As a result of help from the foodbank (which he had a several mile walk to get to as no money for a bus) he was able to concentrate on finding a job rather than how to eat.

I'm sure pete will have something kind to say about that...by the way, pete, who are 'they'? You could do it if you really gave a st instead of pontificating from behind your keyboard.

[petemurphy]

Pothole said:

'm sure pete will have something kind to say about that...by the way, pete, who are 'they'? You could do it if you really gave a st instead of pontificating from behind your keyboard.

tv companies. i'm not a tv company so no thanks.