What do you think should be done about food poverty?

Just as good conversations tend to do, that's all nightowl

If my child was suicidal I would do anything (and I mean anything) I could to help them.

Of course no one wants to be addicted. That goes without saying.

Does suffering emotional or physical pain, or deprivation, have to be met with illegal drug taking? I don't think so.

night owl I would do my level best to get him/her to a doctor so that they could be put on prescribed medication. I don't think I would condone illegal drug taking. Unless you are talking hash to ease pain.

Drug taking by parents is sometimes the cause of food poverty. Not straying off thread at all.

To actually answer the original post, if I was ever in the situation of being too short of money to feed myself, I just know that my children would realise that without being told and would make sure my situation improved.

If that does not happen with old people who have living children, something went sadly awry in their parenting.

Or perhaps their children just grew up to be selfish, uncaring adults despite their parents' best efforts...

If there was enough love in the family, that wouldn't happen.

I have just realised that I have never ever been offered illegal drugs in my life, and I would never know where to get them.

Nor me.

Me neither durhamjen ! We had a discussion at work a few months ago and a couple of the older guys admitted to smoking marijuana when they were younger (the young ones said nothing). One of the guys said he couldn't believe that I had never touched anything, ever and nor have I ever been offered anything, ever. I did once have a discussion with a neurologist (it's no secret that I have MS) who suggested that I hunt down some for pain relief. I couldn't believe what I was hearing although he did wear sandals and white linen trousers !

My daughter can smell out marijuana from five paces. Secondary school teacher.

I was a secondary school teacher, but I never had a sense of smell.
Came in useful when someone let off stink bombs. I'd close the windows and tell them to make sure it didn't happen again!

Lara mentioned fuel bills in the opening post. There is also the problem of some people being able to pay for food or fuel, but not both.
Has anyone had any notification from their fuel company about the £50 reduction in fuel bills promised by Cameron?

I had a rented flat once with not many personal things in it. while I was at work someone was offering plants to anyone who wanted one. I said yes please, my flat could do with a plant, so off I went on my scooter, The plant was dug up from a flower border, I put it in my top box and went home to pop it in a plant pot. I placed it on the widow sill in full view, after a while of lovingly caring for my quickly growing plant, a visitor told me that it was a marijuana plant, I had no idea of what it was.

O M G !!!

How would you know?

I wonder if it is any worse now than when we were children. I can remember when a piece of cheese was the protein on the plate, along with potatos and tinned peas. And the evening meal was bread and jam with, on occasion, a homemade plain cake.

Still think they should never have stopped school milk.

I remember Jamie Oliver did a programme called something like Ministry of Food a while back where he discovered that many people hadn't got a clue how to go about cooking basic food from scratch. I think it would be a good idea, and bearing in mind how many empty shop units there are, if there could be some sort of government sponsored pop up workshops where people could get lessons and information about cooking and sourcing cheap but good food. Perhaps supermarkets could be encouraged to donate the ingredients. If I remember rightly, Jamie Oliver had a bit of an up hill battle trying to explain to some of the participants that it was very expensive living off takeaways.

I would like to see the free breakfast clubs that some schools have extended to cover evening meals for those that need it but possibly with some collective input in the cooking from the recipients.

I expect it would be quite unwieldy to administer nationwide but I do think there is a need to educate some in basic cooking skills. I particularly remember JO suggesting to a mother outside a school, that Shepherd's Pie would be a good evening meal for the family and she replied with something like "that's posh food". When did Shepherd's Pie become posh?, or is it that some think that cooking is posh. If so, sad world.

I seem to remember an invitation to one of Jeffrey and Mary Archer's Shepherd's Pie parties was a sign that you'd arrived (not sure where though)

Jingle- I accept you believe that loving parents don't have children who turn to drugs/alcohol. I don't believe that, I know too many loving parents whose children have developed dependence on substances/alcohol. As others have said, walk in their shoes for a while before judging.
You are, of course, right, that some children go hungry because of their parents addictions.

The love has to be tempered by common sense. And expressed through time and effort being given to a child.

jingl prescription medication doesn't work for everyone. Whereas I'm told that heroin is a very good way to numb emotional pain. I'm not condoning it; I hate everything about drugs but I do understand why people sometimes turn to them.

I haven't taken illegal drugs either, nor have I ever bought them. I would know exactly where to get them. Its incredibly easy.

I can't possibly walk in everyone's shoes. Can you? Who can? Most of us have to rely on common sense and instinct.

And to say that loving patents don't have children who turn to drugs or alcohol is utterly ridiculous. I hope for your sake this never touches your family.

No! You can't possibly say anything defensive about taking heroin! Sorry, but that's just silly. If you stood by and let a suicidal son or daughter follow that path, you would probably hasten their death.

Obviously that should say parents.

I'm not defending heroin. Read my post. I'm saying people describe it as a good way to numb emotional pain. Clear and simple.

Heroin is not a "very good way" to numb pain. Sooner or later it will numb life's breath!