Food banks - what is the real story
Discussion
Does anyone know Foodbank customers, or volunteer in them?
What are their stories? Are the customers truly in need or using them as a soft touch?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-politics/1...
What are their stories? Are the customers truly in need or using them as a soft touch?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-politics/1...
Saleen836 said:
I guess a certain percentage of the people who have used a foodbank just see it as free food which saves them money.
Allegedly you have to be referred to access them.Mind you, 913,000 visits implies only 7,500 people are accessing it (913,000/(365/3 days food per trip)) at any time.
SmoothCriminal said:
Or spent their dole money on booze and fags.
This is the issue. How many are really stuck in a bad place, or just put themselves there through making other choices badly?Ie, drug user who uses money on their drug addiction ends up using food back to subsidise their lack of left over cash for food.
I was speaking with a guy last week who volunteered in one. He caught some woman piling up stuff and loading it into the boot of her fella's Jag.
There seemed to be some sort of signing on process, and she'd fiddled all the statements, i.e living alone etc, and she got struck off eventually.
It's a bit stupid saying how foodbank use is increasing as if it is a sign of the times, it's a sign of foodbanks becoming more widespread and everyone wanting something for free.
There seemed to be some sort of signing on process, and she'd fiddled all the statements, i.e living alone etc, and she got struck off eventually.
It's a bit stupid saying how foodbank use is increasing as if it is a sign of the times, it's a sign of foodbanks becoming more widespread and everyone wanting something for free.
This comment from the BBC News website sums it up nicely....
"My sister is on benefits, she has 3 children, she goes to food banks because she 'needs' to. She has £300 cash per week in various benefits, she has her rent and taxes paid for her. 3 of her kids have iPads, all have new branded clothes and gadgets. She uses food banks because she has little money left after luxuries.
There is no need for food banks. People just do not prioritise needs over wants."
"My sister is on benefits, she has 3 children, she goes to food banks because she 'needs' to. She has £300 cash per week in various benefits, she has her rent and taxes paid for her. 3 of her kids have iPads, all have new branded clothes and gadgets. She uses food banks because she has little money left after luxuries.
There is no need for food banks. People just do not prioritise needs over wants."
And you can live on not very much if you really want wrt food.
Our evening meal tonight comes in at about 75p/head and it's very filling, very nutritious (two super foods in large portions) and tastes great. I bet there are cheaper still if you are really stuck for money.
They really need to qualify these things better so they can get poor people with the wrong priorities off the list!
It should only be for people who find they have nothing after their basic expenses. I'd guess that people in that category are those who DO bother to go out to work and struggle... no doubt better off on benefits and being a lazy sod
Dave
Our evening meal tonight comes in at about 75p/head and it's very filling, very nutritious (two super foods in large portions) and tastes great. I bet there are cheaper still if you are really stuck for money.
They really need to qualify these things better so they can get poor people with the wrong priorities off the list!
It should only be for people who find they have nothing after their basic expenses. I'd guess that people in that category are those who DO bother to go out to work and struggle... no doubt better off on benefits and being a lazy sod
Dave
If you are "shameless" then going to a food bank presents no difficulty - it just means less money needs to be spent on food. A proportion of the people using the food bank are just avoiding buying things in the shops because concerned members of society are doing it for them. Now I know that's not going to be all of the users, but how many of them is it?
And of course, the clergy jump in, clueless but ever helpful.
The Mirror rag of course has lots of arm twisting but this is their weird headline example:
'NHS PA Hannah Chadwick, 31, and her engineer husband Dean, 27, ran out of money to feed themselves and their 16-month-old son Hunter after their car needed £700 of repairs
So two people in work just a bit short one week
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uk-food-bank-...
Because of the propaganda nature and international slur on the country, we the people should demand full disclosure of the actual lifestyles of all recipients, to be tabulated and available for inspection. f there is a real problem, we should know, and if its bad management/scam, this should be outed.
This is what the left is trumpeting:
By conservative estimates, 350,000 people are going hungry in Britain today. That's 350,000 men, women and children who a GP, health visitor, teacher or other professional thought were hungry enough to need a food bank.
That is the same number currently facing famine in Mozambique. The sad truth is that you no longer have to leave the country to visit a food crisis.
Experts recently warned that the 74% rise in malnutrition cases in the UK "has all the signs of a public health emergency".
Ripped apart by Iain Duncan Smith's ideology-driven reforms, the welfare state is no longer fit for purpose.
Over 80% of Trussell Trust food banks blame "increasingly harsh benefit sanctions" and 50% of referrals are a result of "benefit delays or changes".
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/send-david-ca...
The Mirror rag of course has lots of arm twisting but this is their weird headline example:
'NHS PA Hannah Chadwick, 31, and her engineer husband Dean, 27, ran out of money to feed themselves and their 16-month-old son Hunter after their car needed £700 of repairs
So two people in work just a bit short one week
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uk-food-bank-...
Because of the propaganda nature and international slur on the country, we the people should demand full disclosure of the actual lifestyles of all recipients, to be tabulated and available for inspection. f there is a real problem, we should know, and if its bad management/scam, this should be outed.
This is what the left is trumpeting:
By conservative estimates, 350,000 people are going hungry in Britain today. That's 350,000 men, women and children who a GP, health visitor, teacher or other professional thought were hungry enough to need a food bank.
That is the same number currently facing famine in Mozambique. The sad truth is that you no longer have to leave the country to visit a food crisis.
Experts recently warned that the 74% rise in malnutrition cases in the UK "has all the signs of a public health emergency".
Ripped apart by Iain Duncan Smith's ideology-driven reforms, the welfare state is no longer fit for purpose.
Over 80% of Trussell Trust food banks blame "increasingly harsh benefit sanctions" and 50% of referrals are a result of "benefit delays or changes".
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/send-david-ca...
Let them give out vegetables and fruit and see how many people who would "otherwise starve" turn up.
How many do you need to feed? 4. Right, here's the spuds, carrots and some mince - get on with it. But I can't cook. Anyway, Rooney FC, 1D and J-Lo need the new Samsung S5 so they're not bullied at school. Also I can't afford a cooker, even from Brighthouse as we've got a 42" already from them. The Government should realise the benefits just aren't enough for modern living.
There really are some mugs out there.
How many do you need to feed? 4. Right, here's the spuds, carrots and some mince - get on with it. But I can't cook. Anyway, Rooney FC, 1D and J-Lo need the new Samsung S5 so they're not bullied at school. Also I can't afford a cooker, even from Brighthouse as we've got a 42" already from them. The Government should realise the benefits just aren't enough for modern living.
There really are some mugs out there.
C'mon guys. Yes, any system of help will have a broad mixture of people using it, from those in dire need to those, at the other end, who abuse it.
Generalising in lazy and stale stereotypes isn't an intelligent way to approach the subject.
It is a matter of fact that the price of food has risen out of proportion in recent times. It is also a matter of fact that you can't judge someone's cash flow now by their possessions.
Generalising in lazy and stale stereotypes isn't an intelligent way to approach the subject.
It is a matter of fact that the price of food has risen out of proportion in recent times. It is also a matter of fact that you can't judge someone's cash flow now by their possessions.
Myself and Mrs AV12 have come to this conclusion some time ago
- There was always a culture of cash in hand work to people on benefits, this has dried up for most which supplemented their payments
- benefit cuts
- People born into an entitlement culture
- People who cannot manage their money and shop correctly
- Too many children too young
NicD said:
The Mirror rag of course has lots of arm twisting but this is their weird headline example:
'NHS PA Hannah Chadwick, 31, and her engineer husband Dean, 27, ran out of money to feed themselves and their 16-month-old son Hunter after their car needed £700 of repairs
So two people in work just a bit short one week
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uk-food-bank-...
What do you think is weird about that?'NHS PA Hannah Chadwick, 31, and her engineer husband Dean, 27, ran out of money to feed themselves and their 16-month-old son Hunter after their car needed £700 of repairs
So two people in work just a bit short one week
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uk-food-bank-...
10 Pence Short said:
C'mon guys. Yes, any system of help will have a broad mixture of people using it, from those in dire need to those, at the other end, who abuse it.
Generalising in lazy and stale stereotypes isn't an intelligent way to approach the subject.
It is a matter of fact that the price of food has risen out of proportion in recent times. It is also a matter of fact that you can't judge someone's cash flow now by their possessions.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why they get away with it............ Generalising in lazy and stale stereotypes isn't an intelligent way to approach the subject.
It is a matter of fact that the price of food has risen out of proportion in recent times. It is also a matter of fact that you can't judge someone's cash flow now by their possessions.
My gf is a volunteer at a local charity helping the elderly & disabled.
They have a very small food-bank aspect to their office.
I.E. if an elderly person comes in who is on their own & hard off because their pension or something hasn't come through they will give them a bag of food.
They only get donations, generally from the staff, staff's family etc.
It's nothing luxurious, think the cheap tins of custard, tinned veg, baked beans, anything tinned or in a packet that has a half decent shelf life. Generally it's the cheapest of cheap stuff from supermarkets that people hand in instead of throwing stuff away when clearing out their cupboards.
They have a very small food-bank aspect to their office.
I.E. if an elderly person comes in who is on their own & hard off because their pension or something hasn't come through they will give them a bag of food.
They only get donations, generally from the staff, staff's family etc.
It's nothing luxurious, think the cheap tins of custard, tinned veg, baked beans, anything tinned or in a packet that has a half decent shelf life. Generally it's the cheapest of cheap stuff from supermarkets that people hand in instead of throwing stuff away when clearing out their cupboards.
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