Food banks, community larders and payment

Run the pros and cons of charging by a lawyer!

I have a feeling that if you charge, you need to keep accounts the Inland revenue can inspect and that you may be subject to at least paying VAT.

I wonder too if it is legal to sell food donated by shops?

Sadly, growstuff, some have had their trust abused and find it hard to trust again.

I think it's a shame that people don't trust others.

Tattooedfidelma

Our local ‘Community Shop’ charges £2 for 10 items although we don’t turn people away if they don’t have the means to pay. Although it’s run by volunteers and most items are donated the money raised is used to buy extra essential items that haven’t been donated. We always get plenty of food but rarely get items like laundry and washing up liquids and we have a fridge but rarely have anything in it so funds will buy margarine and cooked meat.

I don't think you should buy essential items - you're turning it into a food bank. The scheme I use doesn't have essential items, so I have to be creative with what I pick up and buy essentials (for me) such as milk and eggs. It's something different every week.

vintageclassics

My town runs a stop waste food service - items donated by local supermarkets with short use by dates - it's for local people irrespective of whther they need a foodbank or not - the idea is to stop stuff going to waste / landfill. There is no charge but the council owns the premises it uses for a couple of hours twice each week. If you need to cover costs why not accept donations rather than charge - those who can afford can put in whatever they feel is reasonable and those who can't need not worry about finding the money?

That sounds like the scheme in my town, except they operate every day in different villages and they use a local church. The organisation itself receives a grant, does fund-raising and I believe has private sponsors. I'd find it a real shame if it started charging and limiting the number of goods I could take. Somehow it would seem like charity, whereas at present it's for everybody. AFAIK nobody abuses it and it's a very friendly atmosphere.

Our local food pantry allows one visit per week and customers are charged £3.50 per visit. For this they can pick up to 14 items. This includes fresh produce.

Prospective customers can self-refer using an online form where they can share as much information about their circumstances as they feel comfortable with. The website warns that not all applications can be accepted.

It's a shame that there has to be some form of vetting but if users could come and in and take unlimited food without giving any info, unfortunately some people would take advantage.

I feel charging is difficult, if you go to the fridge, make your donation and (for whatever reason) it contains only 11 or 12 items? That person may complain as she couldn't have her 12 or take 12 on principle...

Our village has one which is, I hear, free and works well - I feel that payments would need another layer of administration. How do you collect it? Who will bank it, sign for it etc? What will it be used for? Will people donating items be happy abouts payments being required? I think it is complicating a simple system which works well elsewhere.

Our local ‘Community Shop’ charges £2 for 10 items although we don’t turn people away if they don’t have the means to pay. Although it’s run by volunteers and most items are donated the money raised is used to buy extra essential items that haven’t been donated. We always get plenty of food but rarely get items like laundry and washing up liquids and we have a fridge but rarely have anything in it so funds will buy margarine and cooked meat.

knspol

I think you can't emphasise enough that it's to stop food waste and is not a food bank otherwise some people would be put off especially if in a small village. Those in need might not want other locals knowing their situation and therefore might not visit. I also agree with other GN's that once there is a charge things can get very complicated. I would not charge but have a box for any voluntary donations with a note as to how donations would be used eg room hire etc. It might be unwise to use any donations for further, popular food items as then it might appear more of a food bank.

This

It's emphasis is to stop food waste.
It's not means tested but perhaps the volunteers can judge how much to give to each person by the amount they have in that day.

People should not be able to just help themselves, or perhaps they could be given a bag to fill; that is shocking, SueDoku!

Our local scheme charges £5 for membership, you can go every weekday and get 12 items for £4.
There’s a “pay it forward” scheme so that you can pay for someone’s membership or someone’s shopping anonymously. There are wooden pegs in the board next to the till with tickets that others have paid for, you just discretely take one. (The volunteers make sure there’s always at least two there)
They also have discounted “little extras” like milk and frozen goods, - which are bought in and sold at cost.
They use the money for rent of the room, fuel for collecting donations and to buy fresh food staples like potatoes and carrots and fruit depending on the quantity of donations they have.
Anyone can join, no proof needed, but it stops people taking too much too often. Occasionally if they have a lot of a perishable item, like cheese or bread, (last week it was spinach) it won’t count it towards your 12 items and you can take extra.
Everyone here feels the cost is very reasonable, especially with the “pay it forward” scheme.

My town runs a stop waste food service - items donated by local supermarkets with short use by dates - it's for local people irrespective of whther they need a foodbank or not - the idea is to stop stuff going to waste / landfill. There is no charge but the council owns the premises it uses for a couple of hours twice each week. If you need to cover costs why not accept donations rather than charge - those who can afford can put in whatever they feel is reasonable and those who can't need not worry about finding the money?

We have something similar in our village which is working very well.
People pay £4 and get £20 worth of goods but certain goods are free.
But it’s amazing the amount of admin that’s involved.
We have about 50 people who come regularly and it’s very much about saving waste as much as helping anyone who might be in need.

The. Community Pantry near me charges an (optional) donation of £3.00 for a bag of food. The money is used to provide free tea, coffee and sandwiches for users if they wish to stay and have something to eat and drink.
I'll just mention that the 1 bag limit was introduced after a couple of incidents when dealers arrived with vans and took ALL the food - which they then sold on local markets..! 😠
This seems to work very well - and has just won an award 🙂

Our village now has a community fridge and table for fresh stuff soon to go out of date and stuff like surplus from gardens and allotments
If shops donate it it should be free. Even waitrose sometimes give away fresh stuff free towards the end of the day
It is just asked that you only take what you need, and to let the staff, it's in the council offices, know you're using it, not what you take
I haven't heard it's been abused, and I guess the electric for the fridge comes under general running costs for the building so paid for by ratepayers and through the rent tenants in the offices that are hired out.
Not easy asking for payment, it's not a scheme which is in a big warehouse with lots of stuff. Why chargea flat £1 when maybe someone just wants a loaf and some apples, had they gone to the supermarket they might have benefited from lower reduced stickers and more choice. Different if you can get a lot of stuff with wider choice.
And this is not what some might describe a deprived area, it's quite affluent but still in need of food banks and suchlike, there are always people in need wherever
To get the vest choice you have to go later in the day, the well off aren't necessarily goi g to take pot luck on going out and maybe finding something, but they may go to one of the supermarkets and pick through the reduced stuff instead
As for people not wanting to go for a free meal because it looks like charity, so be it. No one is stopping them donating to the food bank if they want to or this week a bit extra to Christian aid. Locally there is a free Christian aid brekkie, and you are invited to give extra to CA for the breakfast, no one looks to see what you give, well later the next week but it's not traceable to you
The other yhing about payment, it adds a layer of bureauocracy, someone has to protect the donations, 2 people need to be there to count it up then you have to find a bank, apart from big cities where are there the little branches there used to be

I think you can't emphasise enough that it's to stop food waste and is not a food bank otherwise some people would be put off especially if in a small village. Those in need might not want other locals knowing their situation and therefore might not visit. I also agree with other GN's that once there is a charge things can get very complicated. I would not charge but have a box for any voluntary donations with a note as to how donations would be used eg room hire etc. It might be unwise to use any donations for further, popular food items as then it might appear more of a food bank.

Don't charge as it takes you into the realm of trading which has regulatory consequences and it cuts across the friendly nature of the volunteers' work.

Callistemon21

You really can't charge. The food is donated free and should be free to anyone who needs it.

A voluntary donation might be in order to help towards electricity costs but the local Council may give funds and people could hold fundraising events too.

I agree with you.

Tanjamaltija I don't consider that I live in an especially moral town, but I've been going to a scheme such as this one for weeks and I haven't experienced any freeloaders. The people at the front of the queue obviously take anything which is in short supply, but the volunteers hand the food out and don't allow people to take too much of one item. This is what I get in a typical week. I still have to buy milk, eggs, cheese, coffee, tea and a few other things, but it provides the bulk of my meals for a week.

Thorny question. Freeloaders will grab the most expensive items, whether they need them or not, just because they are greedy. Those on a tight budget may not even have the nominal fee to give you, for things they do not need, if you have run out of things they do. Use your discretion. I help out in a charity shop, and those who haggle are often those who can afford to pay the (very low) prices. Of course, we donate things to those who are in need. However, that having been said, your items are perishable, unlike ours, so there is a market price for them.

You really can't charge. The food is donated free and should be free to anyone who needs it.

A voluntary donation might be in order to help towards electricity costs but the local Council may give funds and people could hold fundraising events too.

Free; but ask for voluntary donations into a pot, so it is anonymous.

I’m afraid with prices so high, food banks will suffer.

I would make a small charge. The reason I say this is we have a free soup and a roll day in our local church . I overheard a couple of ladies in a shop saying they would not go because it was free and looked like charity. I spoke to a friend who is on a low income and she agreed , she refused to go and have the free meal but would have gone if there was a charge.

I talked to one of the organisers of the scheme I use and asked how I could donate. He said the scheme paid for itself with the grant they receive from the council and some other sponsors. They're more grateful if people could donate their time by getting involved, which is what I've done.

Doodledog

I'm not sure if this is relevant, but when I suggested a 'pay what you can' arrangement, I was thinking of a conversation I had with someone recently. She was talking about a coffee shop arrangement which had become a 'warm space' and offered free coffee and cake one day a week. She made a point of saying that she always offered to pay, and that she didn't need free coffee. I felt that this was thoughtless, as the people she was with may not have had spare money, and IMO there shouldn't be a 2 tier system that could make people feel inferior - either it is free or it isn't. A 'pay what you can' donation to cover room hire etc is different, in that it should be anonymous and not happen with fanfare.

I agree with you Doodledog. There would always be somebody with a "curtain twitcher" mentality who would note the people who put a few pounds in a collection box and those who don't - and then probably report it on GN . It wouldn't surprise me if there were comments such as "I saw Mrs X take free food without contributing and I know she's got plenty of money".