Food banks - how widespread is their use?
Discussion
I keep reading/hearing about how nurses, teachers, police officers, students and many other groups are having to resort to using food banks, seemingly in large numbers and on a regular basis. For example:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64599020
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-new...
Etc.
Whilst I don't doubt that some people are using food banks, I find it hard to believe that their use is anywhere near as widespread as many in the media portray it to be. If nothing else, I can't see how food banks can obtain sufficient food to supply large numbers of nurses etc.; if they are, who is it that's donating all this food (it can't be all from the donation bins I see in the supermarket, as the quantities there are generally small)?
Am I missing something? Is the use of food banks, particularly by people in full time employment (e.g. nurses, teachers) genuinely quite widespread, with (say) 1 in 10 nurses having to use them on a regular basis to survive (in which case, arguably it is being under reported)? Or is it in fact much less common than the headlines suggest (say 1 in 1,000 teachers using them on occasion) and their use is being exaggerated by certain parties pushing an agenda? And if their use is widespread, where does all the food come from?
Genuine question(s).
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64599020
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-new...
Etc.
Whilst I don't doubt that some people are using food banks, I find it hard to believe that their use is anywhere near as widespread as many in the media portray it to be. If nothing else, I can't see how food banks can obtain sufficient food to supply large numbers of nurses etc.; if they are, who is it that's donating all this food (it can't be all from the donation bins I see in the supermarket, as the quantities there are generally small)?
Am I missing something? Is the use of food banks, particularly by people in full time employment (e.g. nurses, teachers) genuinely quite widespread, with (say) 1 in 10 nurses having to use them on a regular basis to survive (in which case, arguably it is being under reported)? Or is it in fact much less common than the headlines suggest (say 1 in 1,000 teachers using them on occasion) and their use is being exaggerated by certain parties pushing an agenda? And if their use is widespread, where does all the food come from?
Genuine question(s).
I would have thought you would be able to get official figures as you have to be referred to a good bank and it works on vouchers as far as I know. The media do make it sound like you can just pitch up and be given food and I’m not sure that is the case
Edited by craigjm on Sunday 12th February 16:37
I imagine use will vary depending on the area and I'm sure some people will end up using them due to poor life choices that can't always be turned around on a whim.
There are quite a few 30p Lee's on here and I don't think it's as simple as it's made out to be.
I don't know the details but I'm fair sure you can't just turn up and walk away with free food or what have you.
There are quite a few 30p Lee's on here and I don't think it's as simple as it's made out to be.
I don't know the details but I'm fair sure you can't just turn up and walk away with free food or what have you.
chemistry said:
Am I missing something? Is the use of food banks, particularly by people in full time employment (e.g. nurses, teachers) genuinely quite widespread, with (say) 1 in 10 nurses having to use them on a regular basis to survive (in which case, arguably it is being under reported)? Or is it in fact much less common than the headlines suggest (say 1 in 1,000 teachers using them on occasion) and their use is being exaggerated by certain parties pushing an agenda? And if their use is widespread, where does all the food come from?
Genuine question(s).
The Cavell Nurses' Trust surveyed 2500 nurses and health workers in Jan/Feb 2022, and found that "14% of respondents said they used food banks to feed themselves and their family." Genuine question(s).
https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/charities/rcn-co...
Now, this is an emotive subject and you'll find people discussing whether "using food banks" is the same as "relying on them", or "using them on a regular basis", or that they would have to rely on them if they made x- y- z- lifestyle/budgeting changes but those are the survey results. The Trust also reported a 140% increase in nurses seeking loans or financial grants from various professional or charitable sources compared to the previous year.
As mentioned already, food banks (and claims on hardship funds) aren't just a case of turning up and getting help. There is a referral process.
I was listening to everyone’s favourite Jeremy Vine last week and a lady phoned in who didn’t work but husband did and pulled in £35k a year.
They had 3 kids and she relied on food banks to feed the family. She said there was no means testing and you just turned up and they gave you as much as you wanted no questions asked?
They had 3 kids and she relied on food banks to feed the family. She said there was no means testing and you just turned up and they gave you as much as you wanted no questions asked?
I have a mate who lives opposite a FB here on the IoW.
Now he (and missus) are very very frugal they both just 'get by' £12k a year ish each. They own their own place and keep a horse but they like their free time so have decided to do the minimum amount of work. In the summer they enjoy the benefits of a seaside town.
He cannot understand & struggles to make sense of why fat people turn up in 3/4 yo SUVs (they either own them outright or have them on the knock) to the food bank, park outside on a yellow line (and very often get a fine) and visit said FB.
Now he (and missus) are very very frugal they both just 'get by' £12k a year ish each. They own their own place and keep a horse but they like their free time so have decided to do the minimum amount of work. In the summer they enjoy the benefits of a seaside town.
He cannot understand & struggles to make sense of why fat people turn up in 3/4 yo SUVs (they either own them outright or have them on the knock) to the food bank, park outside on a yellow line (and very often get a fine) and visit said FB.
2xChevrons said:
The Cavell Nurses' Trust surveyed 2500 nurses and health workers in Jan/Feb 2022, and found that "14% of respondents said they used food banks to feed themselves and their family."
https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/charities/rcn-co...
Now, this is an emotive subject and you'll find people discussing whether "using food banks" is the same as "relying on them", or "using them on a regular basis", or that they would have to rely on them if they made x- y- z- lifestyle/budgeting changes but those are the survey results. The Trust also reported a 140% increase in nurses seeking loans or financial grants from various professional or charitable sources compared to the previous year.
As mentioned already, food banks (and claims on hardship funds) aren't just a case of turning up and getting help. There is a referral process.
Self reporting surveys like that are deeply problematic from a stats point of view, particularly where there’s a clear incentive to overstate the degree of poverty for those filling it in (to claim a higher wage rise is needed).https://www.nursingtimes.net/news/charities/rcn-co...
Now, this is an emotive subject and you'll find people discussing whether "using food banks" is the same as "relying on them", or "using them on a regular basis", or that they would have to rely on them if they made x- y- z- lifestyle/budgeting changes but those are the survey results. The Trust also reported a 140% increase in nurses seeking loans or financial grants from various professional or charitable sources compared to the previous year.
As mentioned already, food banks (and claims on hardship funds) aren't just a case of turning up and getting help. There is a referral process.
Nurses are not badly paid compared to other jobs at all, so unless we are saying they are uniquely poor at choosing how they spend their money, I’d say the 14% is a massive overstatement.
I work in the so called civil service as a so called civil servant.
There's a mass of time and I assume money being spent on well being stuff. Sadly it gives the malingerers more of an excuse NOT to work and be paid extra for not working.
Our "wellbeing" folks signpost "#w
kspeaksorry" people to foodbanks. It's shocking that such jobs "require" it. In what is supposed to be a civilised, non 3rd world society.
There's a mass of time and I assume money being spent on well being stuff. Sadly it gives the malingerers more of an excuse NOT to work and be paid extra for not working.
Our "wellbeing" folks signpost "#w
kspeaksorry" people to foodbanks. It's shocking that such jobs "require" it. In what is supposed to be a civilised, non 3rd world society. Most food banks here need a referral from a school, GP or social career but a few don’t.
I think it was Hesseltine or Portillo who swapped places with a family on the breadline years ago, his take from it was “yes, it’s possible to survive on minimum wage/benefits etc but when there is an emergency, a child needs new shoes, loses a coat, the boiler breaks etc, that’s when the proverbial hits the fan”. And that’s where 30pLee can fk right off…. Yeah, it’s possible that people are surviving the breadline but when an unforeseen occurs and takes up all that spare cash, a no questions asked trip to a food bank may be a real lifeline for an otherwise sufficient family.
I think it was Hesseltine or Portillo who swapped places with a family on the breadline years ago, his take from it was “yes, it’s possible to survive on minimum wage/benefits etc but when there is an emergency, a child needs new shoes, loses a coat, the boiler breaks etc, that’s when the proverbial hits the fan”. And that’s where 30pLee can f
k right off…. Yeah, it’s possible that people are surviving the breadline but when an unforeseen occurs and takes up all that spare cash, a no questions asked trip to a food bank may be a real lifeline for an otherwise sufficient family.Ziplobb said:
I have a mate who lives opposite a FB here on the IoW.
Now he (and missus) are very very frugal they both just 'get by' £12k a year ish each. They own their own place and keep a horse but they like their free time so have decided to do the minimum amount of work. In the summer they enjoy the benefits of a seaside town.
He cannot understand & struggles to make sense of why fat people turn up in 3/4 yo SUVs (they either own them outright or have them on the knock) to the food bank, park outside on a yellow line (and very often get a fine) and visit said FB.
Right wing profiling of poorer people. TickNow he (and missus) are very very frugal they both just 'get by' £12k a year ish each. They own their own place and keep a horse but they like their free time so have decided to do the minimum amount of work. In the summer they enjoy the benefits of a seaside town.
He cannot understand & struggles to make sense of why fat people turn up in 3/4 yo SUVs (they either own them outright or have them on the knock) to the food bank, park outside on a yellow line (and very often get a fine) and visit said FB.
loads of total ball aches about other stereotypes that are pish. Tick
You and your mate stick to your EDL, right wing meetings.
How was Liverpool this week?
loskie said:
wait 'till they start moaning about "the cost of childcare". Look after your own children please, it's your choice.
Somebody in their thirties today would be remarkably lucky to be in a position that they could afford a two parent household on one salary. The fact that people are gouged for needing to go to work is a disgrace imo.Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff