Food banks, community larders and payment

Primrose53

We have a few around here and I often drop off food to them. There is a food bank run by the Salvation Army and it is packed floor to ceiling with tins, packets, boxes etc. It is free and anybody can use it.

There’s another in a small town but that seems to be a registered one because you have to be referred and can only use it so many times.

Another is more a community fridge at a family centre. Allotment holders drop off excess veg, supermarkets donate items close to date and people donate items. Anybody can use it but you have to weigh what you take and write it down. You don’t have to give your name but every few months they total it up and they can say how much weight they have saved from going to landfill.

At the church where my parents are buried they have the whole large entrance porch full of donated food and toiletries which anybody in need can help themselves to. It is always open during daylight hours.

I agree growstuff. I suggested upthread that complications would arise from taking money. If the idea is purely to stop waste, don’t turn it into a food bank by providing anything other than donated perishable items that need to be used quickly.

If you're buying stuff to sell (even at cost), are you acting as a trader? Doesn't it then become more complicated? A place like that is operating more like a cut price store.

growstuff

It seems to me that there are different models of "community larder". I think the rationale needs to be very clear. It's not a food bank and is open to all.

This

And this:

these places are a godsend and some weeks to have been expected to pay a contribution, even a pound or two would have made it impossible for me to go

The people running them and the people using them are saving this food from being wasted and are helping to save the planet.

We have a few around here and I often drop off food to them. There is a food bank run by the Salvation Army and it is packed floor to ceiling with tins, packets, boxes etc. It is free and anybody can use it.

There’s another in a small town but that seems to be a registered one because you have to be referred and can only use it so many times.

Another is more a community fridge at a family centre. Allotment holders drop off excess veg, supermarkets donate items close to date and people donate items. Anybody can use it but you have to weigh what you take and write it down. You don’t have to give your name but every few months they total it up and they can say how much weight they have saved from going to landfill.

PS. All the goods at the scheme I use are perishable. There are no tinned or packet goods (apart from bread). This is about supermarket/suppler surplus only. It would go into landfill that day, if not taken.

It seems to me that there are different models of "community larder". I think the rationale needs to be very clear. It's not a food bank and is open to all.

I use a few of these
The Wednesday one does what you are doing plus also provides tinned and packet goods, cleaning items and pet foods etc. You can take as much or as little as you like. They have a charity can on the counter that you can pop money into if you want. Nobody sees what you put in, and nobody sees if you put in nothing. This one is based in a community centre and a nice hot meal is also available for free as they use some of the donated products.

The Saturday one is the same idea, the donated food is free and you can "buy" extra items that they buy at a cash and carry things like tins, baby items, and cleaning products but I feel these are more expensive than some of the cheap shops but saves you trailing the shops. They charge you per item at a price they have set based on what they paid.

We have a local nursery that works with fareshare and when they get items they just leave them outside for people to take.

If you have overheads to cover then contributions are handy. But as someone who had struggled financially for a few months due to illness and losing my job these places are a godsend and some weeks to have been expected to pay a contribution, even a pound or two would have made it impossible for me to go.
I also pick up from people, ordinary people like you and I, through Olio and it is entirely about saving waste.

We have one of these but I’ve never been there because I don’t want to take food which others need more than I do.
Offering surplus food which would otherwise be wasted is a great idea but it overlaps with the food banks, which fulfil a vital but different function.
I think it should be made very clear what a community fridge is and the food should be paid for. The proceeds could go to help a food bank or to provide free meals for hungry children.

I do not actually know the answer to this but, if you charge, would you not need to register as a charity in that case? Which could be complicated from an administrative point of view. If the food is free to you then it should be free to all, maybe a voluntary donation box to cover costs of room/electricity etc?

Germanshepherdsmum

I do think it’s important for people to feel they are doing something good and positive - preventing food waste - rather than being given something as charity. Important for their self-esteem and for the success of this and other such schemes.

Exactly, I volunteer at our Community Fridge and that is very much the ethos. It is run by volunteers and doesn't charge and people can take what they want, although we do have a sign asking people to only take what they can use (the items mostly have very short best before dates)

If you went along the being green route so helping the planet you will get another demographic as well . Some people don’t want to go to food banks for various reasons. If u worded as they are helping you rather than you helping them. Donations tin can be there to use for various purposes .

I do think it’s important for people to feel they are doing something good and positive - preventing food waste - rather than being given something as charity. Important for their self-esteem and for the success of this and other such schemes.

I think a voluntary donation would be ok along the lines of pay what you can. I remember wanting to buy an extra copy of a book my local library was selling that had a couple of pics of a family member in. It was during a brief totally broke phase and I didn't have the 30p it cost. Well I had it but may have needed it for a loaf of Tesco Value bread! I expect there are many more people in that situation these days.

I think either have a tin for donations but not put in a very prominent position. I worked all my life, had no benefits etc etc but at one time found myself with a small child and nothing. It cost me my pride and self esteem to have to go to a food bank but my child was the priority. For myself I would have rather gone without than go there. To find myself in such a situation was quite devastating to me mentally, and although I clawed my way back and eventually sorted things out, I never forgot that time. It is dreadful to find yourself in such a situation through no fault of your own. These days it would have been seen as coercive behaviour, but at that time I did not feel I had anyone I could trust to tell how things were. So mentally, it is really good to label it more as not wasting food where everyone can hold their head up high and feel part of the group rather than the pity of the charity case, in an area where they may be well known and therefore their pride might not let them be part of it. It is a great idea all round and hope all goes well for you

The Fridge for Free in my town, is purely to help prevent food waste. Supermarkets and individuals donate and anyone can take what is on offer. However, strict rules of only one visit per day, and a set number of items taken. There is box for cash donations. All people 'working' there are volunteers who also do the collections from the supermarkets. Shop costs are covered by local authority.

Germanshepherdsmum

Your scheme is obviously well established and properly run. I think asking for money when a scheme is set up by amateurs (I don’t mean that unkindly) without sponsorship is asking for trouble as I said upthread. I’m always in favour of keeping things simple. It generally works and avoids headaches.

I agree with you.

The people behind the scheme I use most definitely aren't amateurs.

To me, it doesn't feel like I'm being handed food because I'm poor. It's always being emphasised that this food would go to landfill if not taken. It usually needs using/cooking quite quickly because it's not the freshest. It's quite fun to come home after I've picked it up and decide what I'm going to do with it and I think if it all became formalised, that aspect would disappear. I'd be quite grumpy, if one week there wasn't very much I actually wanted.

I know of a village larder in an old phone box. The idea is that if you run out of tinned tomatoes you can go and take some, and in return you take a can of beans or a packet of biscuits. It is unpoliced, but AFAIK works well on trust.

Your scheme is obviously well established and properly run. I think asking for money when a scheme is set up by amateurs (I don’t mean that unkindly) without sponsorship is asking for trouble as I said upthread. I’m always in favour of keeping things simple. It generally works and avoids headaches.

I'm afraid I think it's really sad that people have so little faith in other people. The schemes some people are suggesting sound like something run by poor law guardians.

Germanshepherdsmum

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

I honestly can't see that happening at the scheme I use. There are about a dozen volunteers, who are there all the time and hand out the food. People are limited to one bag. The vicar of the church is nearly always there. He must be 6'6 and I can't imagine anybody would try anything on. He chats to everybody and the atmosphere is really friendly. We swap recipes for the strange things we sometimes end up with. It's only open for an hour, so maybe that helps.

Make it a local club £10 a year membership - you can use that for running costs. Check membership cards so random greedy passers by don't take advantage (also make sure local people know if the 10 is a problem 'talk to Fred' and they will 'sort something out' (ie the truly hard up get membership for free confidentially).

Our Church has a food bank - and an opaque donation box. The entire process works quite well, it's charity (the food, labor, location).

There is a scheme where I live that covers local postcodes and you pay £1.50 initial to become a member then you can go when you want and take what you need . Local allotment holders donate their surplus produce there as well . The membership ensures that it goes to people in the local area

We have a community fridge and items are free to anyone who comes. Volunteers collect three times a week from our local supermarkets.