Food Banks
My sister works in food bank in a major SW city, they are not receiving their usual donations, in fact they have a lot of dried pasta and very little else. I've heard this is happening elsewhere whilst shoppers stockpile goods at home. Just a thought to remember the vulnerable people who live from day to day and lack the means to stock up on supplies.
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We have a similar problem here apparently. It's not only the food banks, what about those on very tight budgets and those who can only walk to nearest store? They don't have the means , in any sense, to bulk buy or shop around. Our local neighbourhood watch has asked folk to say if they're short of something, maybe someone can help - at the price they paid!. Also means that those with transport can try to get items those folk can't secure. Hopefully a community spirit, we do have one here but not quite at this level yet, will prevail and we'll live in a nicer kinder world.
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We have a good community spirit where I live and we're being asked to make sure any elderly residents have food in case they're afraid to venture out.
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Our local Foodbank made the national press [Guardian] highlighting the complete absence of UHT milk and pasta [no mention of toilet rolls!] in local supermarkets so donations of these commodities had ceased. Friday shopping at our large Asda, no toilet roll, pasta or UHT milk anywhere, and the cashier said that it had all been 'bulk buy & grab'.
Interestingly, she said that she could not afford to bulk buy on her small earnings from what is effectively a part time post. Something I had never really thought about, and quite ironic in a sad way.
Steve
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We usually do two or three Food Bank shops a year, nothing special just a large carrier bag full. Unfortunately we won't be doing it for the foreseeable future because we are avoiding supermarkets and shopping online. Might be an idea for supermarkets that do online shopping to allow you to donate that way?
David
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Our upstairs neighbour is 99 and still asks whether we need any shopping from the village ... Heart of gold, but getting a little slow on her pins, and her eyesight is fading, but a quiet determination to make it to the Co-op, however long it takes!
If I survive to that age in as good a state of health, relatively speaking, I shall be quite chuffed ...
Steve
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Good post brue, as usual it’s going to be the vulnerable that suffer. I was very touched that the 18 year old son of my Mum’s next door neighbours stopped to chat and ask how she was. As a family they have hearts of gold, have always given a hand when we needed it.
Tesco are now limiting certain items within online orders, and not guaranteeing anything on your actual order.
Bit political, but I can’t help thinking that some of the practices and policies of successive governments, and the loss of employment rights, is going to come home and bite on this one! None essential hospitality services are going to take a huge hit, along with the burgeoning beauty industry, and the Charity sectors. We contacted Mum’s regular Gardener today and said we were happy for them still to come, but will set up an automated payment just to limit interaction at the moment. Small businesses are going to need a lot of support.
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Some are delivering homemade printed cards to households in their community with the offer of help if needed, a good idea where the goods could be arranged to be dropped at the doorstep.
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Saw that yesterday M, great idea. I have seen a couple of volunteer groups, younger age group as well, who are keen to provide assistance to those more vulnerable. We only have one older resident now, close by, and he has all he needs in terms of help thankfully. In the past we have done taxi service to doctors, pick up prescriptions, help with shopping, household tasks, taxi service from care homes all alongside caring for our own relatives. I am still shopping, taking all precautions, so will try and find something each trip to add to Food Bank boxes.
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We also were in tesco today,my god a plague of locusts had blown through every section. No food to speak of and not a lot of booze to soften the realization that most of the people are prats.
Oh and the food bank trolley had been raided, so removed by staff.again prats. Life goes on.😁
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Guardian reporting in its Coronavirus Blog that a Yorkshire Foodbank was broken into overnight and £500 of stock, including toilet rolls, stolen.
Sickening. Just hope that, if the toerags are caught, they are fast tracked through Court System and jailed, ideally after being paraded through the streets so people can see what low life these scum are.
Steve
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Once the army is deployed perhaps they can shoot looters.
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I dropped some stuff in the food bank also. Not a lot available to contribute and so 3 tins of chunky soup (the only 3 of that type left) and 4 tins evap milk (just add water and it makes up fine-also the last 4 available as all the rest were condensed). I was going to add the permitted purchase of 4 toilet rolls but thought that they might walk!
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Regarding your last paragraph. In the late 90s I worked part-time at a solicitors where practically every client was Legally Aided, some just the "green form" type which gave 2 hours free advice for nothing but some on full blown Legal Aid for various matters. Nearly all of the clients actually received more money from benefits than I received in total from Carer's Allowance (as my son is disabled) and my part-time wages!
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I imagine quite a few people of a certain age who are now confined to their homes were regular contributors to the Food Bank boxes in supermarkets. What with the sparsity of supplies means that many Food Banks are going to struggle just as it seems demand will start to rise. If anyone is in the position to do so a cash donation no doubt would be very welcome as it will allow them to source supplies from elsewhere.
David
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Good post, David!
Our local Foodbank in Kirkcaldy [referred to in the Guardian articles over the last couple of weeks] has been hit by a multi faceted 'whammy', in common with many others:
1. Lack of supplies has restricted donations of food [& toilet rolls!]
2. Employee redundancies/reduced hours means extra claimants, putting pressure on both physical supplies and cash balances where food over and above donations has to be bought
3. Supermarket rationing means fewer donations [incl. Toilet Rolls!] of the essentials, pasta included
4. Many volunteers are elderly and in the 'At Risk' Group, so ar either self isolating with symptoms or staying away for their own protection
5. Volunteer shortages reduce the number of people available to drive round supermarkets and Cash 'n' Carry outlets to buy food
Our Foodbank is also short of cash as the numbers of people referred have risen quite rapidly, so cash donations will at least address one area of pressure!
Steve
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One week into lockdown and at the 'Food Poverty' level of society, the frailty of both the Food Supply Chain and the Welfare Support System is emerging. People with low incomes and now reduced hours or redundancy cannot be 'fully supported' as normal by the Foodbanks because of falling stock levels and self isolating volunteers, and the 'clients' are still waiting for Universal Credit etc to catch up with the processing delays.
A Yougov Survey published today suggests that as many as 6% of the 'Food Poverty' population have taken on debt to buy food, especially for their children.
I hope that the Government is pragmatic enough to waive Food Regulations and get the Bulk Caterers Food Mountain that will rot in the next 3 months [after the restaurant/cafe mass closures] distributed to local Foodbanks {and School Kitchens?] before the situation worsens further.
Steve
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Thanks, Brue.
The articles I read said that the Catering Wholesalers such as Brakes had seen their markets disappear because their customers, restaurants, cafes et al, had been forced to close. The Wholesalers' Trade Body says it needs new customers, not least because there is a huge amount of bulk stock that will perish within the next 3 months.
Wholesalers cannot sell it to the general public because the food does not meet labeling regulations ... 'Well, bl**dy relax the regulations for the duration of the pandemic', because the alternative of food poverty for those in crisis, concurrent with economic ruin for those supplies and who will receive taxpayer-funded bailouts whilst the UK economy slides ever deeper into recession is beyond belief. It lifts 'Kafkaesque' to new levels of illogicality!
Steve
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Gleaned some information that students are "volunteering" their services at food banks as many of the helpers can't come in due to age and health. Looks like the food is still arriving but that's all I could find out.
Gov. food parcels should be going out to the most vulnerable too.
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I think we've all seen on tv groups going round handing out food parcels, some of the football teams and local charities are involved.
My question is how do 'they' know 'who' is really in need of such parcels. I have 2 neighbours both women, both 93, both living on their own. One has a son who lives nearby who looks out for her, although he is over 70.
The other one never had children and her nearest relative is over 50 miles away in Edinburgh. As far as I'm aware she has not received a food parcel from anyone. We have been doing her shopping so I know she is alright.
It just makes me wonder if all the distribution of these parcels are hitting the folk who are the most in need.
Like those who have for sometime relied on Food Banks, and those that now find them selves out of work and short of cash until the benefits kick in.
Pensioners may well have difficulties in getting out for shopping but their pension will not have dried up, the younger ones are able to get out to shop but may well not have the money to do so.
I just hope that those, that are doing good, are doing it where its needed most. I would hate to think that some folk are getting parcel after parcel while some are sat at home with nothing.
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Can you look it up on the Scottish Government's web site TG? I think 900,000 "extremely vulnerable" people in England are supposed to have had a letter from the NHS and they're supposed to contact they're GP if they didn't receive a letter. Like wise people in Wales and NI. Hope your neighbours receive the help they need. (I just looked all that up on gov.uk)
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It always astonishes me to see Politicians gleefully being photographed at food banks. It is, quite frankly, an admission of their utter failure that such things exist in this day and age.
I feel David's suggestion of online shopping having a donation section to be a terrific idea.
Its sad that we have vast 'mega farms', free trade agreements and open borders, yet there is an increasing section of society who cannot afford to live, some of whom actually work.
The longer the lock-down continues, the more people who are going to need them. I'd wager the vast majority of people using a food bank never manage to get away from using them.
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So sad that such basic needs are restricted to some. I read today of food banks and now clothes banks. We most probably need a reset on life.
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Earlier in the year MK Food Bank started a competition to break the Guinness World Record for the longest line of food cans. Local residents were asked to contribute cans for the record. They did achiever their aim with 102,400 cans! A bit of a fun way of getting food donations? Apparently it provided about half the canned food they need for a year.
David
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