What do you think should be done about food poverty?

Hit the nail on the head there, Nightowl!

I think it would be reasonable to assume that the majority of people seeking help because they are in food poverty are not drug addicts or alcoholics. To suggest otherwise is simply malicious.

jingle lots of perfectly loving parents end up with kids who take drugs - in some parts of the country it is pretty much the norm to smoke dope and try other "recreational drugs". I for one will hold my hand up and say that my kids both did. They were lucky that they got over that phase in their lives without lasting harm. Others they knew at that time were not.
It is not becoming for any parent to be complacent about what a good job they did. They are not the only influence.

Oh dear, it all seems to have gone way off beam from the original question!
To lighten it up - I am so glad they stopped the school milk Jinglebells - I was milk monitor at infant school (putting in the straws and making sure everyone got one). It went off and stank in the summer, and it was impossible to get the straws through the frozen top in the winter. Still gives me the shudders. Before fridges of course, I'm so old.

You lot really don't like it if someone has a different point of view to you, do you?!

I would say my level of enjoyment of this thread is probably about the same as everyone else's. More interest than enjoyment, I would say.

Jess if we cannot be proud of the way our own children have turned out.... well, I think it's very odd.

Margaret I loved it when the milk was frozen. Winters were colder then weren't they?!

jingle I don't mind you having a different view but I find sanctimonious, judgmental and self-satisfied comments very annoying.

Don' t read my posts?

It;s not just me reading them - some of your comments are insensitive.

Why insensitive? I have not been talking about anyone on Gransnet. It would be wrong to make this thread personal.

Does it matter if some comments are insensitive? This thread is not about a particular member so surely nobody can take anything personally? I'm not saying I agree with everything jingl is saying but who are we to say if she's right or wrong if it's what she believes?

Surely we're not all such sensitive flowers that we can't read others' posts without feeling affronted? At this rate no one will feel able to express their views for fear of being 'told off', as though we're in school...

I used to like the school milk when whatever was left had been out in the yard all day and we got to have a second one - I hate cold milk!

Although this thread is not about anyone in particular, it is insensitive to say that children with good and loving parents will not turn to drugs. It is insensitive to say that if there is enough love in a family children will not grow up to be selfish and uncaring towards their parents. There have been plenty of posts on the forum about both situations and the pain they cause. Hence jingl's comments could be hurtful to many gransnetters. I don't think it's a question of us being 'sensitive flowers' but this is not just a theoretical discussion for many people on here and little understanding might go a long way.

I only like it at fridge temperature, don't drink it much though. Was it good for us? No-one knew about lactose intolerance etc years ago. At least we got free cod liver oil (didn't mind it) and orange juice when I was young; I read today that rickets is on the increase due to children not getting Vit. D from the sun. Little chance of getting Vit. D this weather anyway, so should they at least bring back free cod liver oil if children aren't getting the nourishment they need? I read a few years ago about some mother who was giving her girls a large bar of "dairy milk" chocolate each a day, because it had all the milk they needed in it. Surely they learn about cookery/nutrition, how to manage on a tight budget in school these days? I didn't, but learnt out of necessity over the years.

I think lots of working families are in food poverty as they cant get help from benefits and some dont have parents/grand parents they can depend on to help them out.

durham Hexham does have a food bank, the area covers both end of the spectrum there are the very wealthy and along side the very poor of the community.
The Newcastle Food Bank ran out of food last week and had to transport food by lorry from other areas of the country to help them out.

And I would say, although this thread is not about anyone in particular, I have met parents through the years who have been unbearably smug about their offspring, and my DC used to tell me some hair-raising tales about what these kids got up to behind their unsuspecting parents' backs.

Ok. If you want to think my kids have been up to all sorts behind my back, go ahead. Enjoy!

nightowl So we mustn't state our views honestly on any discussion thread on here, because some GNrs might have been affected by the subject some time in their past?

Just a "soft place to fall" then?

That was my point too. What's happened to Gransnet?

No one will dare to say anything even slightly controversial soon in case they inadvertently cause offence to someone, somewhere, who might possibly have been/is being/may in the future be a bit upset by our opinion.

Insensitivity I can handle; wanton stupidity is much harder to endure.

Oh! Come off it! You at trying to say that others can't disagree with you?
That's rather a strange arguements isn't it?

You are! Fat finger!

I haven't seen any examples of that on this thread, absent. What a strange accusation!

At the risk of sounding like a cliché, even if we don't agree with what someone says, they have the right to express that opinion, unless it's a personal attack on another.

I agree completely with Ana on this point.