Food banks (the hidden tax)

But only 5% of food bank users are homeless people it seems.

And expect having to sleep rough can also cause mental ill health and/or addictions.

Oh yes, didn’t spot that urnstongran

Of course I don’t want babies to starve paddyann but it was an observation - where are the sperm donors in all this? It beggars belief that the taxpayer has to pick up the slack so much with some single mums.

And NotSpaghetti my post suggested that sleeping rough was the result of mental health & addiction.

Not all, in both cases (obviously) but definitely on the rise nonetheless. It is now the accepted norm it seems.

Heard of the "widow's mite"?

The main sources of poverty are house price rises, rental charges, rates and utility bills-----all of which should have been capped before things got out of hand.
Each year brings a small rise in the state pension, but on the back of that we have increased postal charges/stamps, which swallows up the small rise and so it goes on ad-infinitum with everything else. The government as usual always gets their pound of flesh, regardless. GREEDY !!

As a family we've all made sure that nobody goes without. I've used up a quantity of savings as it was just festering in low interest so better used where it was needed and I'd like to think that others in the same position would do the same rather than see/watch the family struggling.

I couldn't care less about myself as I've had my life---- a good one, so it's time for my family to enjoy the same. I don't need anything at my time of life as long as I'm warm in winter and have enough to eat I'm happy----it doesn't take much to please me.

I also know what it's like to struggle as in the 60's bringing up 4 children on H's meagre wages, not a foodbank in sight so have experienced both ends of the spectrum, but like many others once the children were in school it was down to work on full throttle for the next 30/40 years.
No wonder I'm worn out !

None of us are immune from sudden changes in circumstance, some of us are more fortunate because we have family able to help out short term, but not everybody has this safety net. Yes, there may well be some who abuse the benefit system, and undoubtedly a few predictable GN members will be along in a minute to relate stories of their single parent,smoking,iphone owning, flat screen tv neighbour who lives an extravagant lifestyle on benefits, but these stories are often urban myths, besides which, I as a tax payer am prepared to put up with the odd cheat in order to help out those who need it. What I am angry about is the fact that the food banks are needed in the first place.

URMSTONGRAN Wuld you prefer single mothers to let their children starve ? Or a return to babies being taken away from them because they cant afford to care for the themselves?
I'm happy to pay my tax and hope it goes where its needed NOT on nonsense like Boris' bridge that didn't happen yet still cost millions .I'd rather see babies fed and young mother be able to sleep at night .It can happen to anyone ,none of us is immune for trouble .

Below I’ve copied last year’s statistics from the Trussell Trust. They show that 28.49% of people using food banks are on a low income (that is insufficient to cover basic needs). When we have a “living wage” for everyone I really hope we will see some change.

Here’s a link to some recent research via the Trust website:
www.trusselltrust.org/what-we-do/research-advocacy/

There’s also lots you can read on the subject if you use Google Scholar as a search engine - and not all of it requires institutional access.

Here’s the info re who uses food banks:
1. Low Income (28.49%)
2. Benefit Delays (23.74%)
3. Benefit Changes (17.73%)
4. Debt (8.53%)
5. Other (7.57%)
6. Homeless (5.01%)
7. Sickness / Ill Health (2.86%)
8. No recourse to public funds (2.69%)
9. Domestic Abuse (1.41%)
- Reasons under 1%: Delayed Wages (0.81%), Child Holiday meals (0.76%), Refused STBA (0.40%)

Our County Council gives a grant (sufficient to pay for a part time coordinator) to both our local food banks, so in a sense every one who pays Council Tax is contributing to the Foodbanks, whether they are aware of this or not.

I am amazed that there are still posters on this thread who take comfort from the thought that sudden abject poverty only happens to 'others' - the feckless, workshy. In fact it is those who suddenly lose a good salary, who are used to a comfortable lifestyle, albeit with a maxed out credit card and big mortgage, who are ill equipped for poverty. Those who are on or close to the breadline have developed skills in make do and mend, shopping late in the evening, etc. who can manage better.

I will never forget being suddenly made redundant from my £20,000 a year job and being reduced to just under £50 per week Job Seekers. I was plunged into a deep depression, unable to pursue other employment and struggled to drag myself to the Job Centre and college. All this with a DH still working and a level playing field with some savings and no debt. If I had been on my own I would not have survived to tell this tale.

It can happen to anyone.

I'm sure that Universal Credit and the general drop/freezing of benefits has a lot to do with it.

However people in work are being forced to use food banks because of low pay. It's not just those on the minimum wage or with zero hours contracts either. Apparently some people with reasonable, career type jobs such as nurses at the lower end of the pay scale have to use them.

Unfortunately the food banks are often used by working families who still can’t make ends meet.
They have, of course, been going for years but there is plenty of evidence that the change in the benefits system (which was needed but not well enough planned) has pushed many more into poverty and desperation.
It’s really not a mental health/drug/alcohol thing Urmstongran.

Unfortunately, because the UC takes so long to come through, loans can be applied for. This makes the amount given by UC to the claimant even less when it's at last received.
I dread to think about just how well the loan sharks are doing out of it.
Hence, the rough sleeping and desperate need for Foodbanks.

Not sure about that Telly it’s too simplistic IMO. If that were the case they’d be off the streets/not using foodbanks once the benefit money came through.
I feel it’s more to do with mental health issues & drug and alcohol addictions (the streets).
Foodbanks though ... yes perhaps in part UC. Maybe zero hours contracts.
Being judgemental here - single mums who don’t receive maintenance from their baby daddies and are happy for the State to be ‘dad’.

Urmstongran - the changes to the benefit system means that people are having to go without benefits for weeks. A question of making the weakest suffer, that's why we need foodbanks.

What did people do before foodbanks? They seem ubiquitous now, the new ‘normal’. Ditto people sleeping rough. Our city centres are full of people sitting on dirty sleeping bags with a dog on a string.

The more scared people are of needing foodbanks themselves one day the more likely they are to donate. Skint people give more to them than the rich do for all their posturing about philanthropy.