Too poor to eat properly

UC is paid (when you finally get it) calendar monthly so say the 8th of every month. Their blurb says it is to prepare you for when you go to work and to learn to budget. My son, who has a life limiting disease, was changed to UC from ESA when he finally got a council flat although he will never be able to work. He went from ESA every two weeks with DLA on one of the middle weeks to calendar monthly so he found it almost impossible to budget especially after the waiting time for the UC to start. I am sure people lose money on the changeover. His flat he pays £450 a month for plus a contribution towards council tax. It is all electric with a wall heater in living room and bedroom. He has no facilities for drying clothes so a tumble drier is necessary. In the winter he is feeding the electric meter with up to £50per week. People on benefits are not allowed to have electricity meters connected to bank accounts so are paying far too much for electricity. So you can imagine there isn't a lot left for food. I do an internet shop at Iceland for him fortnightly and it's hard work to find him nutritious food to fit the money available. I am usually subsidising the food bill and he is lucky I can do this. Many people dont have this help available or the knowledge to shop wisely.

I didn't have enough money to buy a tin of sardines.
My point was that all we had in the house was bread and butter.
We both had to work a month in hand, find fares to work, so there was no money spare. None at all.

That’s you told MissA ???

Neither of us eat fish anyway. So, a bit of a moot point really.

Anja

Funny sometimes what we get taught in school. In the late 60’s I was taught Domestic Science. Very useful. In maths I struggled to learn SINE and COSINE with the help of a little book. Never understood what it was all about and never used it in all my life after leaving.

Newnanny your post reminded me of MPs, and suchlike, who live the hard life for a short time to show how easy it is to live on benefits.

Of course anyone can live for a week or a month on a £1/day but I bet you and your colleagues did your experiment from the comfort of your warm home with all mod cons and utilities.

Like every other 'cook from scratch' saint on here I too can make a meal out of nothing, but have a stock of basics, herbs & spices, a fully-functioning kitchen and the absolute comfort of knowing that I don't really have to do it.

Nonnie .There are those producing 'consumables' that will be sold in outlets using the 'outlets' own packaging.

There are still proper school dinners, and free meals for children from families on benefit. A 'wise woman' on TV was saying that a bowl of cereal with milk costs about 25p, and a bowl of porridge costs 4p. There is no simple answer to this, but many people could improve the meals they do have by cooking a little more and buying a few less ready meals; cheap they may be but they are not as nutritionally sound. A woman was on the news saying that her son had to forage in bins on the way to school as he was 'starving' - I didn't know what to make of that as she was at least four stone overweight. Did she eat so poorly that it caused obesity? It really is a sad and awful problem that children have poor food, or not enough. I knew a child who had a disgusting 'sausage roll' every day for his lunch, greasy pastry and a strip of thin grey filling that bore no resemblance to sausage. Another child made her own lunch (she was about seven) which consisted of a slice of white bread with a dab of margarine, and a bag of crisps. How they could thrive, and learn, I really don't know.

When I left school I worked for the hols in a food factory producing quite well known pies, when they had packed enough of their own the label was changed (same pie no difference) for a well known supermarket. My SIL argued that the supermarket pies were better as she didn't like the other pies lol!!! I brought her two home same pie different label.

You are right, Riverwalk. Both my paid and voluntary work in the not so distant past have taken me into various foul 'houses of multiple occupation' rented out by greedy private landlords, illegally packing as many unfortunate human beings as possible into the space available. I remember well one unfit inner city Victorian house crawling with ants and cockroaches. Three filthy cookers were provided - in the basement only - and the worst bathroom you could possibly imagine was on the top floor. These 'facilities' served fourteen households.It takes time for councils to get around all such places and serve notices - and even longer to rehouse the occupants.

I met barely literate young people in such places who had left 'care' (and vulnerable older ones too, without friends or family). Both groups lacked basic knowledge of how to turn on an oven, let alone what the phrase 'cooking from scratch' meant. Much work has been done to try to improve matters over the past decade - but we need better housing, better basic education and many, many more good, properly funded projects to give people the help, skills and support they need.

GMA99 Your point about school holidays struck a chord - I remember reading a report a while ago by the Children's Commissioner for Wales in which he mentioned a young lad he had spoken to. The boy was dreading the long school holidays because he wouldn't be getting his school dinners.

Not all of us did Domestic Science at school but many of us probably had mothers who cooked economically and learnt something from them. The rest, for me at least, was trial and error.

At DGS' s school, parents go in to do cookery with the children; however, that is not in this country.

The point someone made about cheaper food taking longer to cook therefore using more fuel is a good one. That is why slow cookers are so good as they are so economical, only need a socket - if you can afford one in the first place.

In the 80s after my husband walked out, and I had to move a long way from friends and family to afford a house for my daughter and I, I luckily got a full time job in the NHS ....no child care allowances then, just pillar to post child care from friends (daughter was 8 when we moved from the South to the Midlands)....reciprocal child care ...i.e. after school then I would do an overnight at a weekend, or similar in return .....I was left, after payment of bills, fares, etc etc, school trips, et al, with £20 a week for food ...school lunches, my lunches (sandwiches and an apple usually but we managed ..I had a slow cooker, and did a 'cook in' on a Sunday of all the meals for the week ...used to buy a whole chicken from Farmfoods for not very much, which we would have roast on a Sunday, pie on a Monday, cold on Tuesday mince meat also figures largely in our diet ...shepherd's pie, home made burgers, spaghetti bolognaise, and a pork chop which would made two lots of sweet n sour (my daughter's favourite) and sometimes these menus were varied ....gets boring, but cost effective ! Always had fresh veggies, and fruit. Cereal and toast for breakfast ...very large bottle of milk, things like Coca Cola and fruit juice were a luxury, but we were ok and had enough to eat. If I had bought ready meals, or fish n chips (a treat if there was enough left at pay day !) THERE WOULD not have been enough money to fee us both on. The only benefit I received was child benefit for a single parent. No maintenance from m y ex husband ...and nothing else ! I guess I was lucky in that I had no housing costs as in rent, as I owned my house outright ...still had all the usual bills though ..council tax for one as my daughter was small .....heating and water paid for monthly, as well as electricity and insurance. House maintenance was difficult but I had a lovely couple next door for whom I baby sat sometimes at weekends, and dog sat on occasion ...reciprocal agreements ! and the husband would do any odd diy jobs for me...maybe I was lucky, but it was still difficult ! My daughter was able to cook basic meals when she was older, and would take one of our meals from the freezer and defrost and cook it for when I got home from work .....missed that when she went to Uni !!!!

It’s no good saying that one can live cheaply if careful. Most of us know that.
To live with hardly any, or no money at all is impossible and no one should be suffering this in our comparatively wealthy country.
There will always be those who are improvident or bad at managing their household budget, which is unfortunate, but that so many poor souls should have nothing at all is disgraceful and beyond comprehension.

My Grandmother was left a widow with 7 young children and no money. She found a part time job in a café and as a perk was allowed to take home the crusts cut off the sandwiches. Sometimes there was a hint of butter or filling on them. The main meal when she got home was often "Tinker's broth"--the crusts were put into a large bowl, liberally sprinkled with salt and pepper, then boiling water was added and the whole lot stirred to a mush. That is poverty.

That WAS poverty thenchicken its a different poverty now,people NEED their phones or laptops if they are unemployed,its how they look for jobs and make appointments etc.They have their whole lives on phones.Children are going hungry people cant heat their houses ,energy companies are making vast profits and (some) taxpayers are up in arms about free school meals .
We shouldn't /cant compare your GM's day to now and surely you dont want to see that kind of poverty before any help is offered/given ?

Our parents and grandparents didn't have store cupboards full of 'tasty' additions. The only veg I knew in childhood were onions, leeks, carrots and turnips, and Brussels sprouts in the winter. Fare was very plain, but we didn't know any different. They would add skirlie ( oatmeal stuffing ) and dough balls to bulk up meals. The only flavouring would have been salt and pepper, and from any meat that had been cooked. It would be good if people on lower incomes could make cheap(er) meals. Soup and stovies don't cost too much, or liver and onions - an acquired taste of course. A banana sandwich is inexpensive and relatively filling, as are eggs. I know, unfortunately, that these would not be to everyone's taste. Where I lived until recently, there were a number of Filipinos living and working on local fishing boats. I saw them more than once at the local butchers' shop, buying large quantities of liver - a fairly cheap source of protein for them.

I've never inderstood the mindset of "we had it so hard so why cant you just deal with your lack of money/housing/heating" etc.
When we started our business we were very young ,we lived on toasted cheese for over 2 years while we workd on building up our business.I wouldn't want to see anyone live how we did,the sheere terror of an unexpected bill still haunts me.That of course was OUR choice ,most people who are struggling dont have a choice ,its just what life has thrown at them .A little compassion for those in dire straights wouldn't come amiss.

I'm not advocating that people don't receive support, just that when funds are low, cheap meals would help.

Another point, not that some people care, but the last time I sent money to the school for a day trip (only £16!) I was phoned by the school who told me that I needed to make an account with parentpay, which is an online method using an app.
I also have to have a parent something or other account in order to receive school letters, notices, and whatnot.

UC initial claims involve 5 weeks with NO money. Imagine having children, both of you are working on zero hours contracts, then have that built in 5 weeks with no income.

It’s not a case of bad meal management. It’s cutting families off for 5 weeks.

I am just wondering how these food banks work.

Do people on benefits get vouchers to hand in, or can anyone just wander in off the street and go home with free food?

I can't help wondering if the system is abused by some who would prefer to spend their money on alcohol and cigarettes etc.

I know the reasons for being poor are varied, and of course some people fall on hard times through no fault of their own and it's right that they should be helped, but it is puzzling as to why there appear to be so many recently who need state help to survive.

Paddyanne you talk a lot of sense. Its is a terrible, terrible struggle to be so poor you have have no money whats so ever for the basics. Its all very well saying people should manage better, shop better or cook basic meals but it is not so simple. To have the need for food banks and baby banks is a disgrace to this this country and the government should hang their heads in shame. Also their will always be people who take advantage of a system but that doesn't mean we should punish the rest. Lets show some compassion to those less well off than ourselves.

Jalima1108 Slow cookers can be bought quite cheaply. Mine was £19.99 and is a godsend.

what a bargain!
When someone is managing with no money it may as well cost £100.