Food Banks

[Pepper Pig Profile]

This is very interesting. (Well I thought so).

https://unherd.com/2020/07/let-food-ban ... -eat-cake/

[MagicMarmite Profile]

I hate when people come out with nonsense like this, Mumsnet can be bad for it.
Mind you, I was once told on the old BBC boards that I shouldn't have internet as I was on benefits, and God forbid I eat a cheap chicken.
It hurt and made me cross at the time, now it makes me laugh, and think what a judgemental idiot that person was.
They'd either be horrified now that I have more, or decide it's fine as I'm one of those ok disabled benefits claimants!
FWIW, I always put treats in the food bank, aswell as a selection from their wanted list, the odd treat got me through some very dark times.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

It’s the old thing of the deserving poor and the undeserving poor

I think it was Orwell who pointed out that William Cobbett (d 1835) thought urban poor people should cook a pot of stew at home instead of paying 6d for ready made hot dinner, unable to grasp that they didn’t have a cooking pot or a sack of coal to use, and couldn’t raise the money to acquire them as they’d cost a lot more than 6d. And Cobbett wasn’t an idiot and made some sensible suggestions for helping the rural poor.

We tend not to have that level of poverty now, where people owned little more than a set of clothes they stood up in, not necessarily including shoes, but you do seem to encounter people who still think anyone with more than that isn’t actually poor

[herbidacious Profile]

Great article. (And Matthew Sweet has clearly read Tiffany Watt Smith's The Book of Human Emotions.)

The comment about the pot made me think of the fact that you need money in order to save money. As in, if you can afford to buy in buik it's cheaper. There was a period of about three months when then boyfriend and I simply couldn't afford to buy a multipack of anything unless it was at the expense of not buying something else we needed. (We had just finished studying but didn't yet have jobs.) We could, then just about get by on our joint (and thus less than individual) social security payment, but if something broke or genuintely needed replacing, there was no money to do so. I guess either we didn't visit our parents that summer, or they paid for us to do so.
Life should never be just about surviving.

[Suelle Profile Website]

I volunteer for my local Food Bank and we still get clients who are 'poor' in ways that most of us wouldn't imagine. For example - asking for a tin of mince and onions rather than a Fray Bentos pie, because it was too expensive to use an oven, or they just don't have one.

Many clients still don't want porridge oats for the reasons cited in the article, too, much preferring a packet of breakfast cereal.

More people are needing help from Food Banks at the moment, and what's given out is supposed to be emergency supplies to help feed a family for thee or four days. In theory they are supposed to be able to get help from other agencies in that time, but that rarely works out in the current 'emergency' situation.

[jeral Profile]

The situation can only get worse with impending redundancies, too many people falling through the cracks of any government support to which it is contuing to turn a blind eye despite unnecessary handouts to business, plus heating bills are only three months away when eat or heat kicks in.

I think you have to be hard nosed and hard hearted to begrudge needy people and families. Thatcher and Osborne did their utmost to persuade us that needy was a euphemism for scrounger, despite negligible proof aside from the odd headline cases and despite the sum total of fraud being a drop in the ocean.

Incidentally, even posh people have few "valuables" that can be sold for instant cash as a new, still cheaper, disposable alternative is usually available.

I don't think there'll be any answers until income inequity is addressed. This week's debacle over social care workers being deemed unskilled and deserving only of minimum wage is not encouraging.

[Amyw Profile]

I quite often put a few things in the food donation boxes at my local supermarket and quite often will add a packet of biscuits in . They’re cheap for me to donate , I think that it’s incredibly high handed for anyone to think that if you’re living on the breadline , your food should meet basic nutritional requirements and that’s it . Everyone needs some joy in their life and food is something that brings a lot of joy to a lot of people .

[MagicMarmite Profile]

At the beginning of Covid, my cousin posted something along the lines of how angry he was that he wasn't entitled to benefits and he'd never claimed them before whereas others had for years, he'd applied for jobs but hadn't heard anything back, (he's a freelance chef so obviously wasn't able to work in his usual job).
Well yes, but some of us have no choice, and others are probably applying for jobs for months on end in normal times and hear nothing back, I've done that too.
I didn't say anything, we're not close, but I did feel like saying, "yes, hard when your life is turned upside down through no fault of your own isn't it?"

[Earthmaiden Profile]

I have given the issues in society much thought, particularly since lockdown brought them to the fore (in case we had forgotten). I really don't know what the answer is, it has been in the making for so long and is so complex but also makes me angry because earlier opportunities to try to smooth some injustices have been wasted.

All forms of capitalism, socialism and communism come to grief through greed, the biggest human failing. Whether someone who is on the breadline enjoys a piece of chocolate or not is important because nice things bring hope. Wish we could offer more than that.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

All forms of capitalism, socialism and communism come to grief through greed, the biggest human failing. Whether someone who is on the breadline enjoys a piece of chocolate or not is important because nice things bring hope.

Absolutely and totally agree with you, EM. And I´d add " Union Members" to that list. they are not at all interested in the population at large but only in their own aggrandisement.
Food Banks are filled with food that people a) decide to donate b) don´t want c) feel obliged to give.It is a stark and thoroughly unfortunate situation where, in the 21st century, there are still people living in one of the most developed countries in the world: and have no home, no income, no resources; but politics is never going to resolve that.
Therefore, whatever goes into the bank is valid, and whether it´s a bar of chocolate or a Mars Bar or a packet of crisps,someone, somewhere, will at least have a good day.

[smitch Profile]

I disagree with what you say about union members. I’m in the union at work for protection from my increasingly awful employer. My union has uniform grants, hardship funds and winter fuel allowances for low income members. They’ve also fought and won campaigns for pay and conditions for members in a range of settings, often minimum wage employees whose workplace wanted to put them on zero hours contracts.

Our local food bank is no longer part of the Trussel Trust for financial reasons. At one point they were extremely low on most items so I did a shop for them, including things like squash, cereal and biscuits. I still donate regularly, particularly toiletries, razors, shaving gel and feminine hygiene products. I only ever donate stuff I’d use myself and try to include some treats.

I think it is awful that food banks need to exist at all, but the demonisation of benefit claimants in the tabloid press, certain TV channels and by the Government is making the situation even worse. I’m ashamed of this country for many reasons, but people shouldn’t have to live like this

[Badger's Mate Profile]

My dad was a union man. Luckily, after he'd fought the nazis at an age when people nowadays worry about A level stress, he found himself in work, properly paid work, making furniture for the rest of his life. It meant he could buy a house and raise a family without worrying too much about not being able to. Nothing fancy - we would have been classified in a very different socioeconomic group from the one Mrs B & I would be now. I went to the Grammar school, most of the other kids came from the other side of the borough. The division was striking - amusingly, if you had walked across the area from East to West at election time the posters in the windows changed from red to blue as you crossed the A10. I visited one of my mates 'over there', his family read The Economist. (Dad only read the Mirror & Reader's Digest). Anyway, I saw the front cover of The Economist, which featured a piece on the unions. The cover picture depicted a chimp wearing a scarf and a flat cap. I've never forgotten that, nor where I came from.

[Earthmaiden Profile]

I think unions have been and are wonderful when they work as they should. As with everything else, where greed and power raise their ugly heads, sometimes they have not worked sensibly.

In my own workplace I watched one individual rise from the ranks until his union duties overtook his working hours. Eventually, he joined the higher echelons and appeared to enjoy the free lunches more than fighting for worker's rights. It was Animal Farm down to a tee. It is people like that who have done so much damage to the reputation of unions - and there are a lot around (sadly).

[smitch Profile]

Yes, I'm not saying all Unions and Union leaders are as invested in workers' rights as they should be. I grew up in Thatcher's Britain in the 80s and was always told that I should join a union. I feel safer having the support of a union behind me, even though they lack the power to have a significant impact on the erosion of our terms and conditions.

[Badger's Mate Profile]

In every walk of life there are selfish, unpleasant people who abuse power or put themselves first. Generalising about groups of people based on bad examples is quite a dangerous road to go down.

[smitch Profile]

In every walk of life there are selfish, unpleasant people who abuse power or put themselves first. Generalising about groups of people based on bad examples is quite a dangerous road to go down.

I completely agree. There is far too much of that going on at the moment in the UK and US (and in other countries too I imagine). I am concerned about how divided the country is at the moment and worry about what the future holds.

[Badger's Mate Profile]

Absolutely. It's an easy trap to fall into though, especially if you feel you are the target of someone else's prejudice.

[herbidacious Profile]

I was a Mother of Chapel at work for several years. I can't say I got 'into' the whole union thing in a big way (I didn't go to Book Branch meetings) it, but the union, as in the group of people who belong to it at work and campaign for pay rises and increased benefits, does a lot of good. The Union (NUJ) was very helpful when the company introducing a new sweeping handbook, which they seemed to expect us to accept without scrutinizing it, and which contained several changed that meant a loss of benefits. (I don't think the company was being malicious. I suspect they just employed someone to write it and they used a one fits all template, more or less. But motivation said there were some dangerous erosions of rights in there which they wanted us to agree to before they would agree to a pay rise.)

Anything that involves committees and sets people apart and a little bit above (in their opinion) can get messy and result in a loss of sight of the original goal, possibly because these things attract a certain sort of person. Church committees and local safer neighbourhood groups spring to mind here... (from experience).

Re the wealth/poverty divide, this is only going to get worse, current cause of unemployment increase aside, with the planned increases in pensionable age and possible (probable) dismantling of the NHS? It does feel like we are heading back to the 1930s both politically and socially.

[Earthmaiden Profile]

In every walk of life there are selfish, unpleasant people who abuse power or put themselves first. Generalising about groups of people based on bad examples is quite a dangerous road to go down.

Quite so. It is terribly sad that unions, which have stood up and helped so many, have got such a bad press, not only from those who don't want workers to have rights (your chimp example ) but from those who get swept along with the perks as per my example. I certainly belonged when I was working for a large company. I always felt that if a right I enjoyed was won for me by a union, it was only fair to belong to it and they hopefully would have supported me if I had been treated unfairly. I belonged to Unison and it was interesting to read their magazine to see how those who were really in need of support (especially in the public sector) were being treated in the workplace. It is, of course, a discussion that could go on all night. Maybe, just sometimes, they cut off their nose to spite their face but there are arguments both for and against that.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

The reason unions were formed was clearly to support workers who needed support

But like everything else they can get bedded down in rules and habits

I was refused membership of my local Labour Party because I was in employment but not a member of a union. I was working as a scientist for a small pharmaceutical company; neither of the potentially relevant unions (ASTMS or COHSE) would have me as they had no contact with management. I was a member of the relevant professional association but that apparently didn’t count So I have never been a member of either a political party or a union.