Food banks - what's driving their growth?
Discussion
I hear more and more about people resorting to food banks; clearly a very worrying trend. However, I am curious to know to what extent people genuinely need food banks i.e. they simply cannot afford to eat without them versus people who use them because getting some free food frees up money to spend on other, non-essential, things.
In my sheltered bubble I find it hard to believe that significant numbers of people in out country are so poor that they would, in effect, starve (or at the very least, be malnourished) without food banks. However, I also like to think that significant numbers of people aren't just taking advantage of donations to food banks in order to cynically reduce their expenditure on essentials (food) so they can then waste the money saved on booze, gambling or whatever.
Does anybody have any first hand insights into how/why food banks are used and what the driving force behind their (apparent) growth in number and societal importance is? I'm not trying to make/score any political points; I'm simply curious to know what is going on.
In my sheltered bubble I find it hard to believe that significant numbers of people in out country are so poor that they would, in effect, starve (or at the very least, be malnourished) without food banks. However, I also like to think that significant numbers of people aren't just taking advantage of donations to food banks in order to cynically reduce their expenditure on essentials (food) so they can then waste the money saved on booze, gambling or whatever.
Does anybody have any first hand insights into how/why food banks are used and what the driving force behind their (apparent) growth in number and societal importance is? I'm not trying to make/score any political points; I'm simply curious to know what is going on.
In my experience, for the majority it's not so much a lack of means but a fairly short term cash flow problem.
So although they can usually make ends meet it doesn't take much to go from having a reasonable amount of money left over, to none. Something simple like a benefit error, being ill for a week or so, or an unexpected but urgent bill.
There are also a few that load up with free food to free up the cash for drink or dope though!
So although they can usually make ends meet it doesn't take much to go from having a reasonable amount of money left over, to none. Something simple like a benefit error, being ill for a week or so, or an unexpected but urgent bill.
There are also a few that load up with free food to free up the cash for drink or dope though!
ATG said:
Worth realising you can't just walk up to a food bank and help yourself. Someone else needs to have assessed your situation first and decided that you need the help.
Interesting. In my ignorance I had assumed that you were essentially assessed at the point of need i.e. you could turn up and plead your case.However, assuming someone in authority is deciding that people need (charitable) help, do they simultaneously also inform the authorities so that benefits, social care, etc. can all be checked to see they are appropriate for the person concerned (rather than just referring them to a charity and leaving the charity to temporarily bail them out)?
Edited by chemistry on Monday 16th December 19:54
I know of one young lass that regularly uses the local food bank despite being a member of the local David Lloyd Club, drives a modern car, owns a fashionable dog, single and with a kiddie living on the social in a council flat.
She doesn't see a problem with her choices and has no understanding how this is perceived!
How many people are living like this I wonder and how did this become acceptable?
She doesn't see a problem with her choices and has no understanding how this is perceived!
How many people are living like this I wonder and how did this become acceptable?
pequod said:
I know of one young lass that regularly uses the local food bank despite being a member of the local David Lloyd Club, drives a modern car, owns a fashionable dog, single and with a kiddie living on the social in a council flat.
She doesn't see a problem with her choices and has no understanding how this is perceived!
How many people are living like this I wonder and how did this become acceptable?
I know nowt about how foodbanks work, but surely thats just immoral ?She doesn't see a problem with her choices and has no understanding how this is perceived!
How many people are living like this I wonder and how did this become acceptable?
Poverty drives the need for food banks.
Even decent salaries don't make for luxury living:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3759081...
On the average household income of 29k, you're not going to be doing much partying. When you earn substantially less than that, have children to feed and clothe, bills to pay and rent to find I can imagine a food bank being needed.
There are stats around somewhere of how many weeks' money several million UK adults are away from a homeless shelter - it's grim.
Even decent salaries don't make for luxury living:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3759081...
On the average household income of 29k, you're not going to be doing much partying. When you earn substantially less than that, have children to feed and clothe, bills to pay and rent to find I can imagine a food bank being needed.
There are stats around somewhere of how many weeks' money several million UK adults are away from a homeless shelter - it's grim.
Turn7 said:
pequod said:
I know of one young lass that regularly uses the local food bank despite being a member of the local David Lloyd Club, drives a modern car, owns a fashionable dog, single and with a kiddie living on the social in a council flat.
She doesn't see a problem with her choices and has no understanding how this is perceived!
How many people are living like this I wonder and how did this become acceptable?
I know nowt about how foodbanks work, but surely thats just immoral ?She doesn't see a problem with her choices and has no understanding how this is perceived!
How many people are living like this I wonder and how did this become acceptable?
I have a friend who got married in the 1980's. He told me that when he got married he was further right than Maggie Thatcher and his wife was a leftie bleeding heart. She has worked for social services in Edinburgh for 25 years now and he tells me she is farther to the right than the National Front. You wouldn't believe what goes on. Payment for a taxi home from the welfare office when she saw him drive up and park across the road. They are not allowed to refuse. And on and on it goes. Mental health issues are the real winner. One man told her I new just how deep to cut myself so they would believe but not deep enough to do any harm.They will be off my back for a while now he told her!
Most food banks operate on a voucher system where the individual or family is known to the authorities (doctor, social services etc) and will be given voucher which is redeemed at the food bank. This prevents opportunists.
At the food bank, your situation will be discussed and help offered where appropriate, then you get a box with a few days food in it.
I’ve genuinely not heard of any where you can just park up, pop in and get a box of food...
At the food bank, your situation will be discussed and help offered where appropriate, then you get a box with a few days food in it.
I’ve genuinely not heard of any where you can just park up, pop in and get a box of food...
stichill99 said:
I have a friend who got married in the 1980's. He told me that when he got married he was further right than Maggie Thatcher and his wife was a leftie bleeding heart. She has worked for social services in Edinburgh for 25 years now and he tells me she is farther to the right than the National Front. You wouldn't believe what goes on. Payment for a taxi home from the welfare office when she saw him drive up and park across the road. They are not allowed to refuse. And on and on it goes. Mental health issues are the real winner. One man told her I new just how deep to cut myself so they would believe but not deep enough to do any harm.They will be off my back for a while now he told her!
Whilst I do not doubt there are exploitative types who will find a way to abuse any system, I think viewing our system and the many who genuinely need assistance, be it housing, care, food through the lens you describe is a dangerous vantage point. I see genuine cases day in day out and hear heartbreaking stories of those scratching an existence whilst keeping their heads below the parapet of sensationalist reporting and stereotyping that can go on. I would suggest, albeit only in my experience, genuine cases outweigh the kind of case you describe by many times and I would not wish to subscribe to a societal view that encourages a belief otherwise. There’s a lot of anecdotal evidence stated above and it’s the same attitude some people have to those on benefits. The Daily Mail et al like to publicise the minority of claimants who undoubtedly abuse the system, and leave their fervent readership in no doubt that all benefits claimants are at it.
There’s something called dignity. And I believe every human deserves it, and most humans have it. I believe that most people would regard visiting a food bank as being as a last resort.
Clearly some people will abuse this. But to infer the growth of food banks is down to the greed of the low paid and most marginalised in society, without once questioning wealth inequality, is at best delusional, and at worst, insidious.
There’s something called dignity. And I believe every human deserves it, and most humans have it. I believe that most people would regard visiting a food bank as being as a last resort.
Clearly some people will abuse this. But to infer the growth of food banks is down to the greed of the low paid and most marginalised in society, without once questioning wealth inequality, is at best delusional, and at worst, insidious.
Good to see that the powerfully built company directors are out in force tonight.
Let's check with some people who know, like the Trussell Trust, for instance:
https://www.trusselltrust.org/what-we-do/how-foodb...
This shows that there are checks in place. You can't just park your Range Rover out the front and load it up with free food.
It's very easy to be like the guy at the leadership debate a couple of weeks ago and forget how relatively wealthy a lot of us are. The guy in question thought he was in about the top 50% of the population, earning £80k p.a. In fact, he's in the top 4%. So, 96% of the population earn less than £80k. Furthermore, checking with the ONS:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/percentil...
shows that in 2016/7, 50% of the population earned less than £23.6k before tax, and 25% earned less than £16.9k.
Here are some facts about poverty (with poverty being defined as "unable to afford the basic needs of life")
https://fullfact.org/economy/poverty-uk-guide-fact...
That's 14.4m people living in poverty according to the independent Social Justice Commission with about half of these in "persistent poverty'.
There's a lot of information about causes - unsecure gig-economy jobs, rising housing costs, universal credit (particularly the waiting period for the first payment). There's tons of stuff online if you're willing to look.
Or we could just blame the poor for being poor - call them feckless, irresponsible and lacking in common sense...
Let's check with some people who know, like the Trussell Trust, for instance:
https://www.trusselltrust.org/what-we-do/how-foodb...
This shows that there are checks in place. You can't just park your Range Rover out the front and load it up with free food.
It's very easy to be like the guy at the leadership debate a couple of weeks ago and forget how relatively wealthy a lot of us are. The guy in question thought he was in about the top 50% of the population, earning £80k p.a. In fact, he's in the top 4%. So, 96% of the population earn less than £80k. Furthermore, checking with the ONS:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/percentil...
shows that in 2016/7, 50% of the population earned less than £23.6k before tax, and 25% earned less than £16.9k.
Here are some facts about poverty (with poverty being defined as "unable to afford the basic needs of life")
https://fullfact.org/economy/poverty-uk-guide-fact...
That's 14.4m people living in poverty according to the independent Social Justice Commission with about half of these in "persistent poverty'.
There's a lot of information about causes - unsecure gig-economy jobs, rising housing costs, universal credit (particularly the waiting period for the first payment). There's tons of stuff online if you're willing to look.
Or we could just blame the poor for being poor - call them feckless, irresponsible and lacking in common sense...
I'm pretty sure you have to be referred to them from people like citizens advice and there's often a limit. So you you can't go in and help yourself to whatever you like. I think it's something like so many times a year/month.
Many people use them because they have to, of course there's people who take the mick, but their actions shouldn't warp the fact that many genuinely need them.
Lots of people live hand to mouth on pretty low wages.
Many people use them because they have to, of course there's people who take the mick, but their actions shouldn't warp the fact that many genuinely need them.
Lots of people live hand to mouth on pretty low wages.
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