Food Banks, One Of Britain Fastest Growing Concerns.

[mikey4444]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24536817

But remember, as Dave has said, we are all in this together apparently !

[mikey4444]

Svejk...I have assisted with my local Food Bank on and off for nearly two years. We are now having to work 5 days a week, collecting foodstuffs, to cope with the one morning a week when we are open.

Not everybody on benefits has the same disposable income. The new interim arrangements, in the change over to Universal Credit is not being managed very well, which is adding to the problems. Some families may have to go weeks in between benefit payments.

We are also seeing a growing amount of OAP's, and if last winter was anything to judge by, this will get worse in the next few weeks. Some of the single pensioners have to make the choice between putting the gas fire on and eating.

Why don't you and anybody else on here that have doubts about food banks, pay a visit to your local one. They will welcome your help and you can see for yourself how much they are needed.

[Svejk]

Nobody doubts they're increasing in numbers,mike.As you've introduced pensioners to the debate, why do millions survive on their state pensions when a few thousand/tens of thousands can't. A very good friend of mine retired a couple of years ago (state pension only). He's never been so well off in his life. £170 a week and his rent paid. Not every poor person is noble and proud, mike. I know plenty of lads who've spent a life on benefits and their attitude is grab what you can get. It would be source of great amusement to these guys to call in the at the Food-bank on their way to the races for the day.

[LazyGun]

Good luck to them just dropping in without a voucher, Svejk.

By any standards the rise in numbers of food banks in the UK is remarkable,especially the explosion in numbers since 2010. Should be source of concern for everyone.

[vakayu]

Can I ask someone concerned with food banks how does one prove to whomever the right or need for food parcels?In other words what is the criteria for receiving such help?

[LazyGun]

@Vakayu It works like this;

http://www.trusselltrust.org/how-it-works

[vakayu]

LazyGun thanks for info,it is just that I was watching an item on tv and vouchers seem quite easy to obtain,of course I do not know the truth of whether that is true or not,but many people will misuse the generosity of others if given the chance and merely use it as another freebie to assist them with another way to pay for other things instead,knowing they will get food!!

[LazyGun]

@vakayu I cannot comment as to how easy it is to get hold of a voucher. At the very least you have to come into contact with those services that can issue them, and will need to satisfy them as to your need.

Do some people abuse the system? Probably. Does that mean we can dismiss the whole phenomenon as people taking advantage? No. Most will be cases of genuine hardship, and as a society we need to know why.

[Svejk]

Who said they'd call in without a voucher. These guys pride themselves on knowing and exploiting every 'wrinkle' in the system.
A few years ago I came into some money and treated myself to a couple of years off work. Prior to this my social life revolved around calling into the pub with work-mates on the way home from work. Without my workmates to socialise with I gravitated towards the only people you could rely on to be in the pub every day.
Between golfing 3 mornings a week and 2 or 3 race trips a week you get to know people and what makes them tick. They considered people who worked as mugs and took pride in being 'smart' enough to live well without work. I wouldn't dream of 'grassing' anyone up and I liked them anyway, if not their attitude to work. I'm not, of course, suggesting everyone on benefits lives that way but,through them, I came into contact with dozens screwing the system in a similar manner, just in my little corner of the world.
I suppose those couple of years have coloured my opinions and whenever I hear of people struggling on benefits I can't help but think of my old drinking butties.

[pastafreak]

From my limited knowledge of food banks,I believe there is a limit set as to how many times a person or family may get vouchers. Its not a matter of treating it Iike a local takeaway.

[LazyGun]

@Svejk I would entirely agree with you that there is a section of those on benefits that are screwing the system. All of us will see evidence of that, virtually every day of the week. But all the examinations of that, all the evidence, suggests that such abuse of the system is small.

And that pattern is likely to follow with the explosion of food banks in the UK too. from just 2 in 2004 to 200 odd now, and most of those coming in the years between 2010 and now cannot be entirely due to people gaming the system. It requires an explanation, and is not a palatable fact in the 6th largest economy in the world, or anywhere in the developed world come to that.

[Svejk]

That's why these sanctions and compulsory work programmes annoy me. The people, like my old mates, that deserve them will, doubtless, remain 2 steps ahead of the authorities while the honest genuine claimants will be subject to them.

[mikey4444]

Svejk...You know nothing of how Food Banks work...You might find this link about The Trussell Trust useful :::

http://www.trusselltrust.org/foodbank-projects

For your information, the vouchers are bright red and are non-photocopiable. There is only a limited amount of times that people can show up with a voucher. You just can't turn up and get a handout. The vouchers are issued by Doctors, Benefit Offices, etc. You have obviously got a bee in your bonnet about "benefit scroungers" I suggest you call in to a local Food Bank and find out the truth, instead of expanding on this, frankly ludicrous, vitriol about people who are worse off than yourself. Arm yourself with facts, not what the Man the Pub tells you.

[naomi24]

Mikey, I’ve given you a fact - this problem is not confined to the UK - but you appear to have chosen to ignore it. Here’s another one. The first Trussell Trust Foodbank in England was established in Salisbury in 2000 – long before Dave’s time. I think you need to retract the implication in your original question.

[Svejk]

You either haven't read, or failed to understand my posts. Either way, you're a bit too aggressive for my liking. So I'm out.

[flump1]

mikey, I have been in a position to be offered help from a food bank and it was extremely welcome. I do not know what I would have done without it. Now I am receiving a benefit , I am able occasionally to pop a tin or two of beans/ rice pudding into the collection piles at the supermarket. I wonder how much Dave and the rest of his cabinet donate ? Just wondering.

[mikey4444]

Naomi...I have no intention of withdrawing anything.

Of course poverty didn't start with the present Tory government, but the pressure on Food Banks provided, largely provided by the Trussell Trust, has increased hugely in the last two years. The present disarray with the benefits system is causing real poverty...see Dennis Skinner's contribution to today's PMQs for instance.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24552300

[naomi24]

... or indeed those who were in government at the inception of this scheme years ago?

[naomi24]

^^ That was to flump.

Mikey you don’t surprise me. I agree with Dave. People should have proper assessments about entitlement to benefits.

[LazyGun]

"There has been rapid growth in the provision of foodbanks since hunger in the UK became a prominent issue after the financial crisis, and austerity that followed it from late 2010. Almost all UK food banks are co-ordinated by The Trussell Trust, a Christian charity based in Salisbury which serves as the UK's only food bank network. In 2004 Trussell only ran two food banks.[35][36] Before the financial crisis, food banks were "almost unheard of" in the UK.[37][38] In 2007 / 2008 there were only 22 food banks in the Trussell Trust Foodbank Network; by early 2011, The Trussell Trust supported 100. As of May 2012, they had 201. By August, 252. The rate of increase has been rising rapidly. In 2011, only about one new food bank was being opened per week. In early 2012, about two were being opened each week. By July, The Trussell Trust had reported that the rate of new openings had increased to three per week. In August, the rate of new openings spiked at four per week, with three new food banks being opened in that month for Nottingham alone."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_bank#United_Kingdom

2008 22 food banks; 2013 250 or so. What been the major change in those years? Oh yes, Austerity measures and a coalition government that has made some significant changes to the benefits system. We should definitely attempt to determine exactly what is the cause of this. It seems very unlikely that these 2 events are unconnected.

[flump1]

Indeed Niaomi, good point.