FAO Damo

[Imploding Turtle]

That's an unsurprisingly uncritical complaint. Have you not considered that one of the major ways these organisation receive donations is through short dated/past best before date food donations from the major supermarkets? Should food banks turn these donations down i'm certain your complaint would be "look at these foodbanks, picking and choosing what types of food they accept. They're basically a free weight watchers for the unemployed"

This is why being a reactionary makes you look stupid. If you had spent just a few seconds trying to understand just how foodbanks receive their donations you would have avoided making such an ignorant and stupid post attempting to discredit them.

Not to mention that the picture your complaint is about is of an actual shop, not a foodbank.And that the picture is related to a Facebook post thanking the shop owners (called Aris & Nuzrat, incidentally) for the donation they were collecting.

[Damo]

My point was, food banks are not places people go because they are starving.
The things they have on offer there will attract people to use them because they give away things that are luxury items. Stuff people don't need because they are so poor they cannot afford to feed their families.
I'm sure there are people who use them for that reason, but I was alerted to it by somebody on my Facebook who qualifies to use them and does so because it saves them a few quid at the supermarket.
On the thread I posted, then deleted it from made a big deal of how many people were turning to food banks because they have no other option.
These figures are clearly skewed by people using them as some kind of bargain bin at the supermarket.
I'm glad something is finally being done about close to date food being used elsewhere but I think it's being used by certain people to make out that things are worse than they are

[Imploding Turtle]

My point was, food banks are not places people go because they are starving.
The things they have on offer there will attract people to use them because they give away things that are luxury items. Stuff people don't need because they are so poor they cannot afford to feed their families.
I'm sure there are people who use them for that reason, but I was alerted to it by somebody on my Facebook who qualifies to use them and does so because it saves them a few quid at the supermarket.
On the thread I posted, then deleted it from made a big deal of how many people were turning to food banks because they have no other option.
These figures are clearly skewed by people using them as some kind of bargain bin at the supermarket.
I'm glad something is finally being done about close to date food being used elsewhere but I think it's being used by certain people to make out that things are worse than they are

You posted a picture of some foodbank volunteers at a shop collecting a donation and criticised the foodbank for having shelves full of sweets, crisps etc. and called it a "free sweet shop for the unemployed". You criticised it thinking that the shop itself was the foodbank and that what was on the shelves in the picture (sweets, doritos etc.) were foodbank stock.

I thought the thread had been removed, that's why i made this thread because i thought it would matter to you that you made a mistake. By deleting your post it at least shows that it does.

[Damo]

Yes. I did.
I deleted the post as it showed a shop as opposed to the food bank.
That said, the food bank itself stocks crisps, sweets, pot noodles and carbonated soft drinks.
These things are all available FOC to people with an income.
So although I hold my hand up to my original post, I think my point is still worthwhile.
Food banks are not the last post for people starving under the current conservative government.
People are also using them who are far from destitute

[bedfords]

Poor people should eat nutritious food. Stupid people shouldn't write on message boards.

[Imploding Turtle]

Sure, they stock those things but so what? Should they refuse those items if they're donated? And it's not just about preventing starvation, if it was then all they'd stock is porridge, a secondary concern for foodbanks is the morale of those who have to use them so they'll gladly accept high-caloric so-called "luxury" items because they provide a function too. They also provide shampoo, soap, toothpaste etc. No one needs these to stay alive, are they luxuries too?

Maybe you don't like it but Foodbanks can only work as efficiently as they do by trusting that those who use them need them. If they means tested it then not only would that cost a lot of money to do it would also be imperfect. Sure the current way is imperfect but at least it's not imperfect in a way that allows the hungry to starve. So by all means use your Daily Mail tactics to argue against, and discredit, charities who are stopping other people from starving while also allowing them some level of dignity, but don't expect any good person to think you're doing it out of good faith concern.

[Burnleybabe]

To be able to use a foodbank you have to have vouchers.

You cannot just walk in from the street ans use them.

A lot of the food they get is tinned as it does last longer

[Damo]

Sure, they stock those things but so what? Should they refuse those items if they're donated? And it's not just about preventing starvation, if it was then all they'd stock is porridge, a secondary concern for foodbanks is the morale of those who have to use them so they'll gladly accept high-caloric so-called "luxury" items because they provide a function too. They also provide shampoo, soap, toothpaste etc. No one needs these to stay alive, are they luxuries too?

Maybe you don't like it but Foodbanks can only work as efficiently as they do by trusting that those who use them need them. If they means tested it then not only would that cost a lot of money to do it would also be imperfect. Sure the current way is imperfect but at least it's not imperfect in a way that allows the hungry to starve. So by all means use your Daily Mail tactics to argue against, and discredit, charities who are stopping other people from starving while also allowing them some level of dignity, but don't expect any good person to think you're doing it out of good faith concern.

I deleted my original post because I didn't want to offend anyone who uses them to avoid genuine poverty.
The picture I posted was also not what I implied in the post
You have FOA me despite my admission so I'll defend my original post, despite my concession it was wrong.
My point was, not all people who use food banks are starving
There are plenty of people who take up the offer of the stuff they supply who have no need to.
I personally know people who have used this service to collect goods they do not need just because they are on offer.
The fact some of the items they offer, crisps, fizzy pop, chocolate etc are on offer is enough to make them use food banks as opposed to buying them from tesco, RDA trading etc.
The significant numbers of people using them is obviously skewed by what is on offer there

[BabylonClaret]

If your mates are using food banks to supplement their supplies with no need them they are stuffing the organisation's that signpost to food banks and feeding them a bunch of ****.

Bottom line is that people can't simply walk off the street on a regular basis.

[Imploding Turtle]

No one has ever said that everyone who uses foodbanks are starving. By making that claim you're arguing against something that no one has said.

And you're talking as if people who use foodbanks are the ones deciding what goes into their food parcels. Just how much of a typical 3-day emergency food supply do you think is made up of crisps, chocolate and fizzy pop? I'll help you out, almost none of it.

Answer me this. What is your solution to people abusing foodbanks? Your solution must ensure that people who do need them never get refused their help so tell me what your solution is and i'll contact Trussell Trust and tell them how to fix their charity.

Also, another question, just how many people who are using foodbanks do you think are abusing them? If you can show how you've reached that figure then that would add some credibility to whatever figure you pull out.

[Damo]

If your mates are using food banks to supplement their supplies with no need them they are stuffing the organisation's that signpost to food banks and feeding them a bunch of ****.

Bottom line is that people can't simply walk off the street on a regular basis.

Mates?
I think of said I know people who use them. I don't know them well enough to consider them mates (some people obviously have different opinions on what constitutes a 'mate") and as such, I'm not privy to how they go about receiving the tokens

[Damo]

No one has ever said that everyone who uses foodbanks are starving. By making that claim you're arguing against something that no one has said.

And you're talking as if people who use foodbanks are the ones deciding what goes into their food parcels. Just how much of a typical 3-day emergency food supply do you think is made up of crisps, chocolate and fizzy pop? I'll help you out, almost none of it.

Answer me this. What is your solution to people abusing foodbanks? Your solution must ensure that people who do need them never get refused their help so tell me what your solution is and i'll contact Trussell Trust and tell them how to fix their charity.

Also, another question, just how many people who are using foodbanks do you think are abusing them? If you can show how you've reached that figure then that would add some credibility to whatever figure you pull out.

I'd say a good 90% of people that use them. That's only my opinion though.
I'm sure you will counter me with numbers of people who have starved to death in the UK since the Conservative government were elected into power?

[Bin Ont Turf]

The vast amount of food that is thrown away by supermarkets should be put to good use.

It's enough to feed anyone in this country who needs it.

It really f***ing winds me up does the over production of food and the waste of it in this country.

[bedfords]

How embarrassing.

[Damo]

The vast amount of food that is thrown away by supermarkets should be put to good use.

It's enough to feed anyone in this country who needs it.

It really f***ing winds me up does the over production of food and the waste of it in this country.

I agree
And via schemes like these.
That wasn't my point though

[Damo]

How embarrassing.

Go on. Enlighten me

[Imploding Turtle]

I'd say a good 90% of people that use them. That's only my opinion though.
I'm sure you will counter me with numbers of people who have starved to death in the UK since the Conservative government were elected into power?

Wow. 90%. Amazing.

It's remarkable that all these people carefully waited until after the global economy crashed, austerity started and benefits for the poor were slashed before they started exploiting foodbanks that they didn't need.

The Trussell Trust sent out 26,000 three-day emergency food parcels in 2009. Last year it was over 1.1 million. It's amazing how well-disciplined these fraudulent users of foodbanks have been in waiting until there is a Conservative government on which to blame the rise in food bank usage that would come from them all deciding to finally abuse foodbank charities. In fact, it's unbelieveably well-disciplined of them.

[Burnleybabe]

Damo

I think you must be the most misinformed person I know regarding this..
I know quite a few people that unfortunately have to use food banks to feed their families.

Believe you me they do not get Fizzy drinks or sweets

They get basic tinned foods that they have to be very creative with to make a balanced meal.

If I were you I would stop talking the crap you are doing until you know the facts

[ClaretDiver]

There is a foodbank operating here in Citheroe and is supported by a national supermarket chain. Once a week a team of volunteers have access to kitchens and work with the recipients to create meals out of what is there. It's an informative session teaching people how to make the best of what they can get.

whilst I have not seen it first hand yet (only been back in the country a couple of weeks) I am heading there this Thursday to volunteer....bring a bit of Thai flair to the meals hopefully@!!!