Food Banks - Worst Thing That Ever Happened

Really don't know how that happened. Apologies.

This may be a tad controversial but I truly believe these are one of the worst 'events' to happen in our country. It has basically given the green light for drug and alcoholics to spend their benefits with the know how that they can get some free stuff whilst they and theirs suffer.  It's far too easy for all MP's and anyone else to go on about why we have food banks. We shouldn't have. End of. And for those not  on benefits using them,  really?

Never mind the paupers, stop messing with the forum ffs 

You wouldn't say that if you were hungry.

HGS

Your post demonstrates incredible ignorance. Both of why there are foodbanks and how they actually operate.

The scroungers who use them should be sent to jail they are a national disgrace
Close them down

Surely, food is cheaper than it has ever been - relative to benefits/incomes.

UK families spent only 8% of their household budget on food.

There are a multitude of reasons food banks exist.  Some users would get my sympathy others not.

Reminds me of the Fields of Dream quote...'Build it and they will come'.

A lot of the big fat ones I've seen at them must have a huge overdraught.

Food banks create their own demand they.

The lower they set the bar, the higher the demand becomes. The higher they set the demand criteria, the lower the demand becomes.

There is absolutely no reason for their existence, except to create jobs for people who would be better employed elsewhere.

Some time ago I looked on the website of one of the larger food bank businesses.

Under policy it read:

''Our aim is to have a food bank in every town in Britain.''

Which tells us all we need to know about food banks

On balance I'd rather live in a country with 2,000 foodbanks (e.g. the UK) than one with none (e.g. Venezuela).

If people want to give away some of their money to foodbanks, that's up to them. I mean, I give away some of mine to animal sanctuaries. Who am I to tell people what they should or shouldn't spend their money on?

And, if there really are people out there who genuinely do need foodbanks through no fault of their own, that's just evidence of how sh1t governments and bureaucracies are at organizing even the simplest project - in this case giving people free money on time.

The animal sanctuaries should contribute to the foodbanks, it's a model that needs investigation.

I've never heard of any genuine cases of people receiving benefits who have ever suffered from lack of food in this country. Even drug addicts get enough to eat.
In times of heavy unemployment, I never heard of any cases of people claiming that they weren't getting enough to eat.
Because you only have to look to see for yourself.

If you provide a free service such as food handouts, is it any surprise that people will be falling over themselves to grab any stuff they can get buckshee?

If I stood on a street corner handing out 20 pound notes, would everyone that took one from me be judged as skint?

Of course not, and a lot of them would probably have more in the bank than I have.

I always put a few items in the box the Salvation Army leave in my local supermarket. Don't know if they go to a food bank or just to supply a canteen facility but it wouldn't be there if there wasn't a need.

There's always a need when you're giving stuff away.

I need a new car

Here take mine

Oh thanks. I'll put it in the garage with the rest of my fleet

Free grub - how does that work - can I have some

A gets £100 a week to live on and don't use a foodbank while B gets the same £100 a week but uses the foodbank every week.  That's why i think foodbanks don't help the ones that needs helping.

Not ignorant imo facts. My opinion. There should be no such thing. Would think the Salvation Army has collections for night shelters and the homeless etc which isn't a bad thing. Nor are parcels for people over the Xmas period in genuine need. What I don't think is genuine is people using such places just so they can spend money on alcohol/drugs. Poverty is not a new thing in this country. How did people cope before food banks existed?? There has to be a better way.

For those that think they are a bad idea then I implore you to watch the documentary that was on ITV's 'Exposure' last night - "Britain's Hidden Hunger" which literally reduced me to tears.

I think foodbanks is indeed the 'better way'. Gets the food out to whoever wants it, and it costs neither me nor you a penny (unless we want to contribute).

The bad way is banning foodbanks and relying on the government to distribute more money as benefits. Way more goes to people who don't need it, and plenty of people who do need it don't get it in time (hence foodbanks).

Whatever criticisms we make of private charities, nobody's forced to contribute. And they're much, much more efficient at effective action than governments or bureaucrats ever are.

Charities are fine by me, if people want to throw their money away that's up to them.
Might start one myself one day, easy money - why not?

What I object to is councils giving these people money which was intended for other things.
Councils have got no right to give our money away to these food banks, who provide a service that isn't required and make a good living out of it into the bargain.

Still probably cheaper than increasing benefits and boosting the numbers needed to administer them.

Of course, what we end up with in the end is both - the boosted benefits and the subsidized foodbanks. But that's a political problem.

The head scratcher for me is when primary schools are saying kids come in hungry. So they feed them.

Brekkie is the cheapest meal. Can be less than 50p with porridge oats.

Makes no sense.

Has always been a 'political' problem. Food banks are used as a political weapon constantly. If claimants are having to wait for their benefits, as is the case with Universal Credit, then it is the benefit system that is at fault and this should be addressed. I doubt whatever happens from now on that we will ever see the end of food banks.

Have downloaded that programme slippy and hopefully will get to watch it over the weekend.

Can you start this on a fresh thread ffs 

But it's our responsibility to have a few quid/tins/dried food in stock.

There's zero mention of personal responsibility in this and many other issues.

That's kind of what I'm trying to get at injera but probably badly. People in the same boat. Some take responsibility, some are happy for others to take it for them.

agreed with injera ....  besides ,these food banks normally utilised by folk who rely on them as a  go to once theyve spent their allowances on drugs .

feel sorry for the well meaning but gullible volunteers 

If Labour ever get elected again, they'll be embarrassed trying to explain food banks away after they've made so much of them in opposition.

that is very droll crippen  hehehe

It's so tiring all this talk on every thread about scroungers on the dole reaping the benefits of the system.

Not to mention blaming migrants for just about everything.

It's pathetic childish and distinctly lacking in truth.

How many alcoholics and drug addicts wake up and think about food for that day.

GET REAL GROW UP.

I can guarantee there wouldn't be any food banks under Corbyn, McDonnell & Milne.

The last thing anyone would be in a position to give away would be food.

do these food banks have a vegan section? if not the should be closed down for a lack of inclusion.

Top spiv thread yet again

The human beings who starved to death under McDonnell's heroes on his banner number in the tens of millions. My relatives among them.

As if we'll be seeing any food banks under that man's government.

gluten free?

The  ignorance demonstrated on here is utterly staggering., as well as disgusting.

That’s what things look like in our cities today
Imagine having the true audacity to go to a food bank in this country where not a single person is poor
And no one has starved for many centuries

pecker, I did not start this thread to rip into people on benefits. Far from it. I was questioning the idea that food banks are a good thing. Imo as mentioned they are not. The benefit system as a whole is vital to this country.

Ok facts. Make the ignorant less so. Tell us why food banks are so great. And if you have a solution to their existence, that wouldn't go amiss either.

"The  ignorance demonstrated on here is utterly staggering., as well as disgusting."

couldnt agree more - shameful

There are a number of subsets of society - what can't be ignored is that there are a large number of our society who are struggling terribly - one party wants to help them and make their lives better, and one party couldnt give a f uck - whatever faults Labour have, they genuinely care about people in this country - vote accordingly

And who has to go to food banks ? I’ve never been to one
I thought I knew the score

That was a party political broadcast by....

So safe to assume food banks will be history if Labour win this election.

some will - LFC, your opinions from the star players of LFC to the cleaners and the stewards, are completely at odds with everything they stand for - I'm no LFC fan but the club would be ashamed to have you as a fan

Now the Tory party is a very socialist party , and Britain is a very socialist country
Until you understand that you understand nothing , be thankful

socialism ? It has meant generations of alcoholics , drug addicts, teenage mothers , the workshy and people who will never work , forget about food banks , that’s what things look like in our cities now

I don’t want to see fking foodbanks , sorry

I hadn't a bob at one time,maybe about 30 years ago, but the last few pound i had,i would get a bag of spuds,carrots,that was plain common sense,have something til you meet a buddy or something comes in.Other than a roof over your head it is priority no 2.
As other posters have alluded to,food has never been so cheap.
Children,Sky,cigs,a pet drink or as also said drugs would maybe put the food priority down the list a few steps,but tend to agree with op that the numbers on them are staggering and that might be due in part to simple household mismangement.
Saying that they are genuine cases where most of income goes on rent, but are they getting abused overall? Tend to think they are also.

Labour care about nobody, their only priority is to get 're elected they are a small business.

But it isn't "labour" they(food banks) are a product of the Tory goverment, and high rents probably the most other significant factor.

If you provide a free service giving stuff away, don't be surprised if you get trampled in the rush to grab the goodies.

The fact is that food banks are not a necessity, they're simply an addition to the benefit system that is perfectly adequate without them.

People feel good about themselves when donating to the poor - but what poor?
The homeless need help but they can't just turn up and be fed, they have to be referred. They need a voucher, and they have to jump through hoops in order to get one.

So the only ones who really need feeding are snooker for a start, that's an example of your do-gooders in action.

Thatcher and her monetarist trickle down policies created the sink estates , the destruction of manufacturing,  the lack of opportunity etc , then we have had austerity, bedroom tax , the privatision of the nhs , its there for all to see the tories do not and never have given two hoots about the people , unless there is a war of course

If the above is true can you explain to me why Labour haven't got a cat in hells chance of being elected?

Serious question.

Because they are in dissaray at the moment , plus when you have ex blairite lovers who hate corbyn  go on the airwaves constantly rubbishing him it doesnt help , the tory lie machine and the billionaire friends using smear tactics to defend their money , power and privilege , for sure Corbyn is not perfect but come on lets see this for what it is an Establishment stich up

No need for food banks.  If you can't afford to buy food then get off your backsides and go shoplifting or mug somebody or burgle their house - all virtually legal these days so no excuse for not getting stuck in

I see it more of their own making to be honest anxious. Anyway, I'll leave it at that and respect your opinion.

Yep your entitled to your opinion no problem

Labours own policy of creating more poor has backfired on them.

Labour thought they'd vote for them but they're not.

not many tax payers in this thread

Everyone's a taxpayer - VAT, fuel duties, booze duties, tobacco duties, insurance premium tax, council tax, vehicle excise duty, TV licence, climate change levy (and that's only just off the top of my head).

Income tax (which is what I'm guessing you're thinking of) represents only a quarter of the government's income.

yes and not many of them in this thread

Gordon Brown's policy wasn't so much to create more poor people as to ensure as many as possible were dependent on benefits - tax credits in particular.

The problem was that he alienated huge numbers of people who found themselves struggling because they can't access benefits or tax credits. Brown and then Miliband discovered that the party could no longer win an election.

So the middle classes and the privileged took over the party (Corbyn, Seumas Milne, Andrew Murray, etc.) and made it into a vehicle for hardline Jew-hating Stalinism. They figured (perhaps correctly) that there are enough anti-freedom, anti-Israel, climate-communist types among the middle classes and the privileged in this country to win an election that way.

Give some credit to the staff at these centres. There are truly some users who need food banks otherwise they and their kids will go hungry for most of the days. I think a bit of sacrifice from some of us could help the users enormously. Humanity is not costly.

I read once that the calculation to find the amount that someone out of work needs to live on, would expect claimants to use charity shops for their tailoring, and to make the most of special food offers at the supermarkets.

I hope now that food banks are getting common, that the free food available doesn't start being figured in to the amount considered enough to live on.

That would be a smack in the face for the unemployed, if they were expected to go down to the food bank for their meals.

And I can see it coming.

Not much dignity or compassion in here.

PLASTER/ROOT PROBLEM

Of course when you provide a safety net for people, that safety net is soon taken for granted. And as in the case of businesses like food banks, their role changes from a safety net into simply another benefit that is part of the system.

The shocking thing about food banks, is that they deny help to those in desperate need such as the homeless.
Then cover themselves by saying the homeless can get food if they have a food voucher.

Food banks are not created to supply people ,just to suppress,.. know thy place and be grateful.....send us £3 YOU could save a family

They are the emergency places for basic food stuff to tie someone over esp mum with young kids until family credit arrives - it's not a long term solution. However, more and more people use them for basic essentials eg baked beans, tinned spuds, pasta, etc in between.

Close them down and if anyone starves to death we will think again , not before

I think they are a necessity nowadays, but not government funded as it could give rise to abuse and fraud. Use them for emergency only to tie users over until benefits arrive.

It simply means they use more on their money on drugs , gambling , alcohol and cigarettes ,
my neighbours don’t work

I suppose they might do the unthinkable , and get a job

The food bank opens in the afternoon , they wait for it to open in the pub opposite

your an aimless drifter in fact you are one of them

I knew of a young family of two who's just been made homeless due to the father's controlling and coercive behaviour and corporal chastisement. They are presently in secured emergency accommodation despite the father owning 3 properties with 2 incomes - job and rental properties. They are surviving on family handouts and vouchers for food banks whilst family credit is being processed; mother and father are not married but have been in long term relationship for over a decade.

The father is a bastard. He told his daughter no return - no toys. But, return only without the mother; mother walked out because the father chastised the daughter by punching her in the leg - she's only 9 yrs old. The father went ballistic after the mother reported him to the police and social services for threatening to kill them, and her families.

The father is a manager of a department in a London Council. He's also a bully at work; he's made a female colleague cry with his controlling and coercive behaviour.

But, for the food banks their lives would have been more unbearable. Their lives have changed overnight but for the better long term.

It was Christmas day at the food bank, they put on a decent spread.
The soup of the day was oxtail, with crusty cobs of bread.

We went for the chicken nuggets, while others had turkey roast
The workers who couldn't get vouchers, stayed home and had beans on toast.

The moral is pretty basic, you can work as hard as you wish.
But all you will get is knackered, while claimers keep taking the pish .

Benjamin Zephaniah - eat your heart out baby!

I recall our local MP Chris Mullin campaigning before his retirement to London,for tenants to receive their DSS payments directly to stop landlords being able to receive rent direct via DSS. A reasonable policy in principle but one with the unintended consequence of less functional tenants wasting money on drinking,drugs and gambling. By the time they were required to pay rent there was not much left and the worst cases had nowt left for food. We should stop and think before rushing to buy the sentimental solutions.

These lefties can't take a joke at all can they.

So next time you're walking down the High street eating a bag of chips and see someone in a doorway sleeping rough, give him your chips - it might be Facts.

Book early for the busy Christmas period to avoid disappointment.

Tesco 1kg Porridge Oats 75p. How many servings? 8,10? Milk, water, bit of sugar, honey or jam. Less than 20p a bowl.

And yet kids go to school hungry. Makes no sense.

Why would some benefit-ridden single mum pay for porridge when you can get a sausage & egg mcmuffin meal delivered by uber-eats for £6.95

Tesco porridge flying of the shelves,kids just go mad for it..........

The Trussell trust:
Today we support over 1,200 food bank centres across the UK, and together we provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, while also campaigning for change to end the need for food banks.

Some good jobs going there as well.
Pensions
Matched contributions up to 8%

Health scheme
Allows employees to claim money off healthcare bills

Enhanced sick pay
Four weeks of contractual hours on full pay and four weeks of contractual hours on half pay after completion of probationary period (remainder at statutory rate)

Enhanced contractual leave
Five additional days above statutory entitlement (33 days in total including bank holidays) [pro-rata for part-time hours]

Potential to buy/sell contractual leave
Up to five days [pro rata]

Enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption/shared parental leave pay
To support sustainable living while having a family we offer enhanced pay while on leave. Please do contact us if you would like further information.

Personal development programme
Continuous Personal Development is actively encouraged and training opportunities explored.

Flexible working
Core hours 10am – 4pm (where role allows and in agreement with line manager)

Group life [death in service] scheme
3 x annual salary to nominated beneficiaries

Group Income Protection scheme
An insurance policy which pays a proportion of your income for a period of time in the event that you are unable to work for more than eight weeks.

Payroll Giving
Allows you to make regular donations to your favourite charities from your gross rather than net pay

Staff Volunteering
Five paid days per year to spend supporting another good cause.

Cycle to Work Scheme
Save up to 42% on the cost of bikes and equipment.

Season Ticket Loans
An interest-free loan to cover the cost of a public transport season ticket.

Plus
Three paid days of compassionate leave, significant life event leave, and time off for dependants leave.

Please give generously.

1200 food bank centers and that's just the one company.

How many staff have they got?

All they have to do is to highlight one or two extreme cases that have slipped through the welfare net, and 1200 food bank centers spring up.

They soon be bigger than the governments welfare bill of £95 billion a year.

What a massive scam.

while also campaigning for change to end the need for food banks.

That's a lie, their policy is to have a food bank in every town in Britain.

Probably not if they have been brought up on coco pops and sugar puffs....

re pecker's porridge comment...

And yet kids go to school hungry.

Well they don't do they. The vast majority of kids are looked after properly and get plenty to eat, too much in fact.

What these charities do is to find one or two genuine cases where children are neglected, and the parents need to be prosecuted.  Then use them as an argument to stir up outrage in order to stimulate cash donations from the public.
Of which the charity's livelihood depends.

The bigger they can make the charity, then the bigger the salary of its organisers.

Even my local supermarkets have big bins with donated food stuff at the main exit - I'd not like to see them, but there are a necessity for some unfortunate souls put into that predicament thro' no fault of their own.

I've virtually stopped giving money to beggars in the streets, but I still succumbed every now and again if the guilt factor overtook me eg the attire of the poor soul was genuinely depressing and unhygienic.

I noticed the secure emergency housing I highlighted did have several bags of rolls for those who might need them on a table by the lift on the ground floor. I did not see a male occupant only young women with toddlers or health visitors and social workers.