Is it me or them?

Some food banks accept people who just turn up. Some insist on vouchers. The people who issue vouchers have no way of checking the needs of that person, you can only believe what they tell you. The use of vouchers is so the food banks can plan for the amount of food needed on any particular day. Most vouchers are issued with a date and place where the food can be collected from.

The Trussell Trust do a brilliant job but they do give out food parcels to anyone. From my past working experience we had people who would ask for a food parcel, and for it to be delivered, and we would later find out that the items they did not want were sold. Others would spend their benefit money on non essential items and then bleat that the food they got from the foodbank was not good enough. Whilst not everyone is the same and there are genuine people out there, there are those few who taint the rest

I volunteer at a Food Stop. Local people can come and pay £3.50 for their shop which is roughly £25-£30 of food. No referral required. Our Pastor says it’s for a step up not for a hand out. Never ever judge a person by just what you see.
A lady would come two hours before we opened and sit in her posh car with the engine running. She was not collecting for her self but for a disabled daughter and that was the only way she could really help her. She now volunteers as well. We have a gentleman who comes. He and his wife both work. They have no extra money at all after they have paid their bills.They would take it in turns to eat. We make sure his bags are full. As they only have the food that we give him. Sometimes if they don’t have £3.50 we give it freely. We are a community that will help those that need it. Sadly though there will always be others that will take advantage.

Whatever you do there are always those who will get through the hoop.
It's been said on here before when someone commented on women with beautiful nails and answered by some as to why shouldn't they have some pleasure.
We went from a family of two to one of four on one salary. Delia Smiths' "Frugal food", fell to bits with use. You live your life according to your means. Unfortunately, no day trips, or the cinema, coffee and a bun when shopping.Picnics made at home and a walk to the park to eat them.
Then those who really need the help would be seen to and visiting food banks would not be questioned.

In the foodbank at which I volunteer our clients may only have twelve sets of parcels ( the number of parcels given reflect the size of the family) The idea is to offer short time help whilst the recipients attempt to resolve their difficulties. Services regarding debt or benefit problems etc are signposted.
It's not seen as a permanent situation.

Sometimes the pressure of Christmas overwhelms people where they feel they must buy presents or the family may have had an awful year or it could just be by using the term Christmas she means something as basic as having a nice Christmas Dinner with a few of the luxuries that can be taken for granted. There will always be the odd few that take advantage but Thank God these places exist as i’ve seen people really struggling who haven’t eaten and literally have sat in the dark with just a candle through no fault of their own. Some people won’t ask for the help but if anyone is in that situation never be afraid to ask x

Some of these comments are outrageous. I took my three year old daughter and left my beautiful Mansion block flat and well paid job in London due to DV. I fortunately found a Social Housing flat back in Wales. This was early 90's. Food banks did not exist then. I was unable to work and money was so tight. It really came down to one slice of bread for her breakfast before Giro day. It was 'tuna or cheese' this week and I couldn't afford a jar of coffee. Toiletries were so basic. I even had to ask my neighbour once if she had some moisturiser I could use. My ex never contributed. No money for treats like ice cream. It was horrendous.
No money for the phone bill. All donated furniture and household basics, plates, pots and pans from charity shops.
I met a lovely man (thirty years ago) who adored both of us and literally saved us. He helped out so I could go back to Uni and get a degree. My daughter is now 38, living and working in London. I went on to work in the Probation Service. I met young people who had never grown up with a table and chairs in the home not just for eating but nowhere to do homework. Not even a pen. Some didn't know how to use cutlery.
I came through, evidently but could not have done it alone. I could weep thinking back...

Not all Food Banks are run by the Trussell Trust and will have different criteria for referrals. We went through hard times too, despite my DH being a “white collar” worker. He had to have a car. We are middle class with “posh” voices. He still had to get a second job, I had a newborn, to make ends meet. Please don’t judge the many because of the actions of a few.

There are different types of food banks. We have 2 here. One of our food banks encourage EVERYONE to order on their website from the food supplied from supermarkets at the end of the day. There is no referral. You ask for what you would ideally like and get what is available and as close as possible to what you asked for. It saves waste and there is usually some food left over at the end of the day. The other one is by referral and vouchers only as explained above. The supermarkets usually reduce their stock with the current date on by 7.30pm some earlier then cut off at 8pm, when the food banks collect the remaining food and much more. The Supermarkets are very, very generous. I will occasionally get a phone call asking me if I can use something (cakes mainly) for the support group I run, it is very welcome. It is a brilliant idea and the volunteers work really hard, collecting, sorting and delivering 5 days a week including Sunday.

Well said, DS64till.

My local food bank only takes referrals too, but even if all of them were 'free for alls', so what? People talk as though it is their money being spent. It isn't - they use donations from people who choose to give to those less fortunate. If the people sneering at the nails or apparent lack of neediness of the users felt like it, if theirs is a non-referral bank they could use it themselves.

Poverty shouldn't attract the scrutiny and disapproval of others on top of all the other indignities it brings. I've seen comments complaining about people using charity shops who don't 'need to', too, and people offering unwanted items on FB or Freecycle and saying that they only want them to go to someone 'in need'. If you donate something, IMO it should be given freely and without conditions.

If charity shops and Freecycle-type schemes are designated as only for 'the needy' they will have a stigma that will deter those in need. Yes, there are 'grabby' types who take without giving, but it would be a shame if people refused to donate on the offchance that their items would go to someone they see as undeserving.

Also, not applicable to foodbanks, but a lot of people seem to think that offering old 'stuff' is a favour to the recipient, whereas that is often just a side-effect of their reason for donating. Mainly it is because the item is no longer any use to them, and getting rid of things is not as easy as it used to be. The council charges £25 an item to take things away, tips are often inaccessible and closed several days a week, and deliverers often can't take old items away when they bring new ones. Donating is very often a two way street.

I wish there were more honesty about things like this. the government bangs on about 'targeting' as an excuse for having less social spending, and the idea that there is a large number of 'scroungers' who sponge off the rest of us has become entrenched. Yes, there are some who won't work, just as there are some who don't pay tax, and some who steal from their families or whatever. But does it really matter if one of a small minority benefits from your (generic) generosity? You'll never know who gets the biscuits or tins you give to the foodbank, or who buys the old clothes you give to Oxfam. And if someone who does work and might have a better salary than you buys your dress, so what? The money has gone to the cause, and the people who do need to shop as cheaply as possible won't feel stigmatised if the shops are used by everyone in a community. The better-off buyer may very well donate a lot of things herself anyway.

I remember when the miners were on strike and all the neighbors got together giving food parcels. We had to sell stuff to buy things I was just a kid but I remember it well. I do wonder how many actual really need food banks nowadays and not just using them as a top up because where I lived we had a family that would go for food but be out on the weekends drinking. Yes some do need help but not all.

Doodledog

I wonder how many people the reporter had spoken to before she found one who said something that would get this reaction?

'Spent all my money on Christmas' could mean anything. Bought a grandchild a small gift? Booked a table for eight at The Ivy? Ordered a chicken and a Christmas pudding? Bought stamps to send cards to the people who will moan that you 'haven't bothered' if you don't send them?

I think this is very definitely one of those cases where you have to walk in someone's shoes before you can begin to be in a place where you can criticise.

yes it could mean anything

Nannashirlz

I remember when the miners were on strike and all the neighbors got together giving food parcels. We had to sell stuff to buy things I was just a kid but I remember it well. I do wonder how many actual really need food banks nowadays and not just using them as a top up because where I lived we had a family that would go for food but be out on the weekends drinking. Yes some do need help but not all.

I can understand people who have actually sold their own possessions in order to give to others being annoyed if people take advantage. It's lovely that you did that, but I really don't think it happens often. More often people are getting rid of things, or can afford to add a few items to their weekly shop without really noticing.

If a family takes food but spends money on drink, I wonder what their children would eat if there were no donated food. I'd rather see them fed than go without, wouldn't you? If someone has an addiction they are likely to prioritise that over everything, and addictions can affect rich and poor alike.

I don't honestly think we get to sit in judgement. My work colleague had to use the food bank last month because of an unexpected vet bill. I suppose the callous amongst us would say her own food was more important than the health of her pet, others may see it as a necessity. I suppose that depends how you view animals and pets but they keep many people sane!

@spudy I wonder where she got £2000 to spend on fireworks? It certainly wasn't from benefits, barely feeds people. Perhaps she was feeding her nosey, judgmental neighbour rubbish just to laugh at her reaction?

Chardy

Trussell Tryst website says you have to be referred (ie only certain people can get food from a food bank)
'In order to get help from a food bank you will need to be referred with a voucher, which can be issued bya number of local community organisations(for instance schools, GPs and advice agencies). Your local food bank can advise which agencies can help.'

Yes this is true. On the other hand, how many are turned down for them. I would guess at non. Unless questioning as to why this woman has spent all her money on Christmas, she gets voucher. Can't quite accept that she's spent her money helping others, very naive that . Not enough questions are asked. Blind acceptance seems the norm. One other really needy person not getting the help they need, because one has spent her money on Christmas.

Erm

That reads to me like she prioritised loved ones and couldn't afford to eat herself

Which is exactly why food banks exist

We don't know if she spent a tenner or a hundred on Christmas...

But either way, she couldn't then afford to eat. That is the point of food banks...

Or should struggling parents buy their children nothing for Christmas?

Give for the sake of giving and knowing there are those in genuine need who would get no help if everyone stopped giving because "that woman down the road, bet she doesn't really need it"

I had my eyes opened when through my job role I became a voucher holder so was able to make referrals for people to take a voucher to the foodbank. The greed and cheek of some people was astounding and I found it very hard not to ask why do you need it, not because of I’m nosy or judgemental but when a family asked for a voucher and could it be delivered by a certain date as they would be flying home from holiday!

Can't quite accept that she's spent her money helping others, very naive that . Not enough questions are asked.
It's not public money. I wouldn't be happy knowing that recipients of my donations had to answer humiliating questions in order to get the food I had donated expressly to make life a tiny bit easier for those who are currently struggling. If I had to use a foodbank and a TV reporter came to my doorstep so the neighbours would all know I was getting it, I would very probably make up something to make it look as though things were better than they were - wouldn't you? Do you really want televised grovelling to satisfy a need to know that only the deserving poor get the benefit of other people's donations?

I dont really understand why food banks and also benefit claimants are targeted in this way, in my time I have met some teachers who are skiving, I have met people who work in shops who arent doing their jobs properly, I have met people who fiddle their expenses, I still think we should have teachers, shop workers and expenses.

VioletSky

Erm

That reads to me like she prioritised loved ones and couldn't afford to eat herself

Which is exactly why food banks exist

We don't know if she spent a tenner or a hundred on Christmas...

But either way, she couldn't then afford to eat. That is the point of food banks...

Or should struggling parents buy their children nothing for Christmas?

Give for the sake of giving and knowing there are those in genuine need who would get no help if everyone stopped giving because "that woman down the road, bet she doesn't really need it"

Absolutely.

Who says they paid for their own holiday? Could have been a relative, it could have been booked and paid for before a redundancy or illness

It is just conjecture and if your thoughts immediately go to worst case scenarios, some joy is missing from life somewhere

My dad once won a holiday because he sold a particular brand of sweets in his shop.

I used to issue food vouchers and even though I used to ask some “in depth” questions we were still scammed .

The flip side looks like this

Food Banks are local community and people read things like this and are too embarrassed and ashamed to ask for help

Volunteering and giving to any such organisation should be done without judgement based on conjecture... Otherwise it just honestly seems an excuse to gossip

Sorry but this sort of thing annoys me greatly