Too poor to eat properly

Yes...sadly, it seems to be a tunnel with no light at the end. We're trying to feel our way and failing miserably.
I was mulling over this thread while washing my empty cup before going to bed, thankful that I have a warm, clean, comfortable bed and food when I wake up.
There were, at the last census in 2011, 34m working adults in England, Wales having about 1.9m
If everyone gave 50p pw into a fund to build affordable homes, flats and houses to rent, that would equate to £840m per year = 6,000 homes @ £200,000 each, depending on the area where they were built.
I'm sure no-one would really mind paying 50ppw if it alleviated the housing problem and the government ordered brownfield sites to be used as far as possible.
They could be fitted out with a basic cooker and an under counter fridge but even a scheme like that would not sit well with some folk.
There is so much done for people nowadays, that it seems to some, not worth working.

How is it known benefit fraud is 0.3%? Is this the percentage who have been charged with benefit fraud ?

MissAdventure, for many people it is. But they seemed to forget that for some people, the same reasons they can't get jobs is the same reason they can't handle their financial affairs - for one reason or another they have poor organisational skills. There was nothing put in place to identify and support these people in a timely fashion. Some people will always need to have their rent paid direct.

Someone mentioned fresh food is better than frozen but that is not always the case. I believe frozen veg and fish are fresher than the fresh ones and usually cheaper. Of course not everyone has a freezer.

I'm not against selling off council houses because we recently went back to the large estate DH grew up in and it has improved hugely. Yes, you can see which houses are still council but the whole estate is vastly improved and I like the idea of mixing up the population. I am fortunate to have lived in an area of very mixed housing and found that far preferable to when I lived in a totally middle class area, I like that new housing estates are so mixed.

So I'm not against selling off the houses, just think the money should go back into housing for those who need it.

Nonnie I lived in a council house on a council estate and then bought my own house at full price at the time about £40k. Neighbours bought their houses for £5k. How can this be right. They paid very reasonable rent for years. Why should they get such a huge discount. After a few years they were able to sell their house at full market price and buy one I (and others like me) couldnt afford. I believe its a nonsense idea. Totally unfair and leaves people vulnerable to private landlords.

Schools do teach food technology: my DGD has made apple crumble, swiss roll, vegetarian casserole and a pasta sauce during the term she was on the food bit of technology. Other lessons were 'theory' on nutrition, balanced meals etc. But it is not just down to schools! As DGD pointed out she could do all those things anyway by following a recipe..though she liked the support of teacher when rolling her swiss roll! My DDs both cook and bake. I cook and bake, my mother and grandmothers cooked and baked!
However for some low income families, in bedsits or sparsely furnished/ equipped homes and with a poor family history of cooking it is a struggle to make/eat healthy meals. Our town also has a community fridge which local supermarkets give food nearing end of shelf life to For a donation you can take what you need. It is based in the CAB office.
It is aimed at reducing food waste but helps those struggling or people like me who prefer food not to be thrown away!

Nonnie where do you think people who cannot afford to buy or to rent privately now live?

The fridge idea is excellent. I wonder why ideas like this can't be rolled out nationwide?

www.bigissue.com/latest/community-fridges-are-helping-tackle-britains-growing-food-waste-crisis/

Seems there are quite a few popping up!

As DGD pointed out she could do all those things anyway by following a recipe.

The problem is that many people cannot read a recipe and follow the instructions. I do not mean that they cannot read, But even instructions like 'chop and fry an onion' would defeat them. They would need to know what a frying pan is, how to chop an onion, what fat/oil to use and how much, then instructions on how high or low the hob should be for frying an onion, that it needs to be stirred regularly.

If you think the above is a joke, a few years ago I stood in a lift with a couple of young women, who were giggling about the effort of one of them to 'cook' a curry. The curry had actually been bought but this girl had tried to cook the rice herself and it had been a disaster. Their general agreement was that cooking was beyond them and in future they would stick with ready meals. I very much doubt if they could follow a recipe. Packets of rice usually have cooking instructions on the back.

Exception rather than rule, I would say.
Being poor doesn't mean being as thick as two short planks.

MissAdventure I quite deliberately did not describe this phenomena as being a problem of poor people. That is the interpretation you have chosen to put on it.

I did not do so, because this problem exists throughout society. Many people, at all levels of income, are now so divorced from the process of cooking that they would be unable to use a recipe book.

I have no idea what the income of the women in the lift with me was, but the lift was in an office block and the women were returning to their desks after their lunch break, but the conversation gave me no reason to think they lived in poverty.

Ah thanks for clarifying, M0nica. Could you give me a hand down from this high horse, please?

One person in a lift? It must be true then.

Spot on lily

Not understanding a recipe doesn't mean you're thick. "fry the onion in a little oil" doesn't mean anything to someone who has never seen anyone frying or learnt how previously. "Stir the sauce till it thickens" - how thick? I remember my friend showing me how to make roux sauce as young housewives. My mother had taught me all about boiling vegetables and stewing meat, but nothing fancy like roux sauce. But I needed to make something with roux sauce and I remember her saying "stir it on a low heat till it goes sort of different" there is no way I would have dared try that without being shown! And recipes don't tell you how to par-boil potatoes, they just tell you to do it.

Monica, actually rice is a bit of an art that not everyone has the touch for however many years they try

One of my employers sent us on a beginners course on using a computer, years ago.
The trainer was rather put out that a few of us had no idea what she meant when she said
"double click" and "icon" and so on, because it was assumed we knew what that meant.
Of course, all the people who had computers already at home were quite scathing, but, well, we didn't know anything about computers.

Never had a problem cooking rice. It is pastry that defeats me.

PECS why did you ask me that question? I.Don't understand. If there is something you disagree with in my post please say so.

Talking of pastry, fresh from cookery class at school, and proud of my superlight shortcrust, I offered to make my family an apple pie. Waiting for the verdict, as my mother struggled to formulate the right words "It would have been nicer if I could have picked it up" - I had made it so short and light that it crumbled when you touched it! :D

Re M0nica's point above - I was once at a meeting where there were women from 'comfortable' backgrounds.
2 young women behind me were chatting and one said "I can't make a cake for this weekend because my machine's broken".
And I'm hopeless at pastry too.

My sister has a huge garden but as she has got older and her dh has arthritis it no longer gets planted and harvested. She offered a large family on benefits if they would like to use her garden as she knew they were waiting for an allotment and now they plant and grow, have fresh veg season round and give some to my dsis. She feels better as it is a lot tidier to look out at them too. More people who do not use their gardens might offer it for others to use. The council should keep a list.

Its a lovely idea.
I suppose its all the rigmarole of safeguarding and so on.

I am a private LL and I am disappointed that so many seem to assume all private LL are terrible people. We have been invited to the weddings of three of our tenants. One tenant has stayed with us for 8 years and 2 others for 6 years. We attend to all issues quickly and fairly and I always say I would not expect a tenant to live in a house I would not like to live in myself. We don't advertise as always have a waiting list and remain on good terms with ex tenants who have moved on. We only put rent up every second or third year. Not all LL are monsters just as not all tenants are all good or all bad.