Food banks (the hidden tax)

I don't believe there is a normalisation of food aid - I can't think of anyone I know or any person I've ever worked with who thought it was normal to use a food bank.

well paid

The job centre here has a poster, advising people who have no money about food banks and how to access them.

This is an interesting collection of papers regarding food aid and food banks in general. It collects together papers covering the post-war French "societal good" ideas as well as the rise of food banks over the last 10 years.
openaccess.city.ac.uk/14988/8/Final%20with%20changes%20copy.pdf
Re the Trussell Trust. In 2014 they were responsible for about half of the UK foodbanks. No idea what proportion they run now.

I spend almost all of my time with the people we are talking about on this thread; people who use food banks because they literally have nowhere else to turn in order to feed themselves and/or their children. I have never met one single person, I'll repeat that, I have never met one single person, who is glad to be there and take advantage of having free food. Some of them are almost dying of 'shame', some of them are crying with the seeming indignity of it, most of them are just deadened to the hopeless, helplessness of their fate and live with the sense of inadequacy that comes with not even having the resources to eat properly.

Almost every week I hear that someone has complained to the foodbank because they think that Mr. or Mrs. so-and-so is 'cheating' the system. What people don't often realise is that those of us who refer to the foodbank have EVIDENCE of income, expenditure and the situation that has led to a referral. We don't just hand out vouchers because someone has told us a story; we check and double check and ask our clients to show us their bank statements, their rent accounts, their bills etc.

People are poor and/or homeless for many, many reasons, but most of the people I meet have had few advantages in life, often have little or no family support, have a mental or learning disability or a physical one. They come in their wheelchairs and limping with their dodgy hips and knees, they come in dying of cancer or something equally horrible or after a family bereavement; they come in tears because they've been denied DLA or PIP, or because they've waited for five weeks with NO MONEY for their Universal Credit claim to be paid and have just been told that there's another problem with the paperwork and they'll have to wait even longer.

And I sometimes come home and read another thread on here about foodbanks and if I'm sick and tired of dealing with it day in day out I end up crying myself because some people still just don't get it; because working alongside these poor, poor people is heartbreaking and I feel so desperately sorry for them and I worry that one of my clients is the one who is going to break and walk in front of a lorry or a train one day!

For me the problem should be solved by tackling social housing. Private renting is a scandal and blight on millions of peoples lives. The costs are extortionate .

We need billions of pounds of investment now. 59% of people used to live in social housing . Property should never be a commodity that people can make money on. It is a human right, not a privilege. And the cost impacts on personal disposable income = foodbanks.

grannyactivist, thank you. Just thank you for being you.

boatWhile it is true that anyone, not necessarily the well-off", can claim charitable donations against income tax, they can also elect for that claimable sum to be donated to charity. Most charities have a form that a donor can complete to ensure that this happens.

grannyactivist, I echo anno's words.
It's a small thing, but something that sticks in my mind:
seeing a small family with a young child, kneeling on the ground looking through their bag of groceries that they'd received from the Foodbank. The real nitty-gritty of it. The clients go to the front door and the deliveries are handed in at the back door. I was driving away after my own delivery of a couple of bags of groceries and saw the family and this sight has stayed with me. My heart goes out to these people. Really, never knowing where their next meal is coming from.

My mind boggles at wanting let alone, getting tax relief for food bank donations.

I certainly gift-aid charitable giving if I can, but that benefits the charity not me. Apart from that I do not claim any tax relief for the charitable giving I do . The sheer hassle of going through paperwork for relatively small sums of money given to different charities isn't worth the effort.

Tax relief for charitable giving is for those giving large amounts, not for the day to day donating most of us do.

Grannyactivist, that's truly heartbreaking and this country should be thoroughly ashamed of putting people through this indignity.

Why isn't there a shop stocked with goods/foods from businesses who throw away tons of stuff ? Never mind about reducing prices in-store, give the damn stuff away to those who are desperate. What a greedy country it is to squeeze the last penny from folk !

Thank you Riverwalk that's brilliant I can easily do that and pop something in the box when I do the mid week top up.

I know exactly what you are talking about grannyactivist. Once people are down they cannot get back up again.

Its utterly soul destroying.

Sometimes " poorer" areas are well served by donations from the community. Fair Share is also a very good organisation.

In the 40s and 50s if you were in need of help you had to apply for national assistance and it was always means tested. I recall older family members referring to being impoverished and no way were they going " on the parish ".
We always grew fruit and vegetables and neighbours had chickens so there was a ready supply of eggs.
The thought of being unable to provide hot food is dreadful.

Even charity shops are cashing in on this greedy society with their now inflated prices !

When there's been a disaster abroad, warehouses are opened up and donations are given. Why not the same for OUR desperate people ? Clothes, bedding etc.

I don’t think we do have a “greedy country”. The businesses round here, including the supermarkets, certainly do support the food banks and other charities in many ways. And charity shops exist purely to raise money for those in need, so they have to charge fair prices.

This scheme for one benefits from supermarket donations:

fareshare.org.uk/getting-food/fareshare-go-support/

EllanVannin there are clothing banks in the U.K.
I volunteered in one when my children were small. I expect the YMCA has them now? They do a lot of good work.

Yes, our YMCA definitely has a clothing bank. The local news featured them at the start of the school year when they’d had a special collection of uniforms. Racks and racks for all our local schools, free for all who needed them.

I suspect most of you realise that I posted in the heat of the moment last night, after what was a particularly harrowing few days, so thank you to those who commented and who do 'get it'.

To look at the other side of the coin there are many, many individuals, businesses and organisations who do donate money, time, skills, food, clothing etc. All done with a generous heart and fostering a community spirit.

I rang a local Methodist Church drop-in service to ask what was needed. They asked for sanitary towels, soap, deodorant and sleeping bags. The food needed was curry or stew ingredients to make up bulk meals they serve to the needy.

Yes, I did think you seemed overwrought last night grannyactivist you obviously do good work and at times it must get to you.

The OP was questioning the type of person who donates and mentioned tax advantages.
I don’t suppose that gift aid can be reclaimed on a tin of beans.
Like a previous poster I feel a bit guilty at buying own brand products and then putting a branded product in the trolly for me. I do understand that means more people can eat but it does lack the feel good factor.
grannyactivist what do you do to help? Whatever it is then well done.

PamelaJ1 I work (unpaid) for a small local charity as a caseworker for people who are homeless or are in danger of becoming so. We have a small staff of professionally qualified caseworkers (also unpaid) and some marvellous volunteers who do non-specialist work for our clients.

Thank you for your post grannyactivist. It was a good time to post when you're feeling overwrought because then you tell it as it is. I had tears in my eyes reading it. How could anyone think people want to go to foodbanks? Shame on our country that some have so much to squander and some not money for basics.. Utter disgrace.