Why Are Some Forced To Depend On Food Handouts In 'benefit Britain'?

[anotheoldgit]

On my visit to a supermarket today I saw shopping trolleys with notices on them asking for donations of items of food for the hungry of this country.

I cannot believe that in 2013 Britain there are people who have to depend on food handouts, especially when this country is supposed to be one of the richest in the world and taking into account the £billions we hand out freely to the rest of the world.

This is yet another time that I can say that I can never remember the time, even during the war, and pre Welfare State days, when I ever remember our local CO-OP appealing for persons to make donations of food for the hungry.

[Sqad]

Well again...I was brought up by the Labour "War Cry"..........."The Welfare State, we will look after you form cradle to the grave"

Have things changed?

[Zeuhl]

sqad

Well the cradle was fine ... and the grave not bad

But nowadays people want some things in between :-)

[Octavius]

In them days, cradle to grave was probably a few days for the poorest i society.

[Zeuhl]

sqad

it always amused me when people criticised NHS reforms on the basis that the 'number of beds' had reduced rather than focusing on what was happening for the people in them

my childhood recollections of a 1960s 'cradle to grave' hospital was large wards, with lots of beds - filled with mostly dying people.

[Sqad]

Zeuhl.......LOL......see the peasants are never bloody happy....

[barney15c]

There is a story in my local rag of one food bank (one of many) in my hometown of Southend that was getting on average an extra 25 people month on month coming to them. This may not sound very much but proves the problem is getting much worse rather than better. A shocking indictment of this government.

[ummmm]

Hey...doesn't it tell you that the 'scroungers' can't make ends meet??!

AOG...do you know what your local houses are selling/renting for?

Have a look on rightmove.co.uk

In 'your' day and Sqads day, rents were cheap in comparison. Stop knocking people that can't afford to pay extortionate rents, over priced utilities and feed their kids on over priced food!! (over priced food is fruit/veg/meat...not maccyD's)

[Barmaid]

Food banks fill an important gap in circumstances where people are suddenly "let go" by their companies because of insolvency/administration or whatever. I am in the lucky position of being able to put money by to deal with hard times, but many families live hand to mouth - salary comes in, salary then goes out on mortgage/rent/bills of a recurring nature. When the main wage earner suddenly loses his/her employment unexpectedly it can take weeks for any benefits to kick in. How are that family to survive in the meantime?

[Sqad]

barney...hear this, hear this......i have just been talking to our cleaning lady and she tells me that food banks have been going in the entrance to our hospital and in the GP polyclinics for about 3 years now.....also some supermarkets.

So...the problem just does not only affect the UK as it is tough also in Spain.

Do we here have a different Government from the UK?

[B00]

Does anyone else think that the need for foodbanks could be indirectly blamed on basic compulsory lessons in school?

Now bear with me...

On the TV programme Skint a few weeks ago, a young couple were forced to use a food bank, and she described the food items she got from them, they included crisps and biscuits- none of which (whilst lovely) are not essentials but are nonetheless considered so by some people. Perhaps if people were taught that you can cobble together a nutritious meal with very few basic ingredients that the need for banks might lesson a bit? Food doesn't necessarily have to be pre-packaged and ready to be bunged in the oven.

Am I straying from the topic too much and talking rollocks? Or does anyone else agree with me?

[barney15c]

I don't doubt you sqad , probably Greece, Cyprus and Portugal too... possibly others.

[B00]

blamed on the lack of basic cookery lessons , should've been my first line.

[modeller]

I hesitate to make this comment but one evening I recently saw a supermarket handing out boxes of food to a large group of people in need.

Nothing new in that you may think but to put it politely that group would have been better off going on a diet than grabbing boxes of freebies.

[Zeuhl]

Boo

I think Food Banks can only give out what people donate

Maybe people aren't donating spuds, carrots and scrag end

And if they did, they would no doubt cause storage issues that processed foods don't

[barney15c]

I agree Boo, some essential basics, like bread, marge, milk,sugar, some veg and a few tinned goods, and possibly some cheaper cuts of meat..cant see any value in crisps and the such like, then again losts reared on junk and dont know better.

[cazzz1975]

they would need a daily supply of fresh foods in order to hand them out, however as they are not a supermarket the people using these places probably have to accept processed or easily stored food.

[Octavius]

B00, the only basic cookery lesson I learnt at school was an upside down pineaple cake, which I have not repeated to this day.

As said above, nutritious and healthy foods are often the most expensive and rapidly perishing.

[ummmm]

With all due respect, B00, you need to have store cupboard provisional to make meals from scratch.

Last night I made Thai green curry (from scratch) I was missing 4 ingredients which cost me a couple of quid. If I had to buy 'all' the ingredients it would have probably cost me £20+

You can make tasty food if you have a stock of herbs and spices.

[bednobs]

squad my darling - what is soup, if not food?

[VHG]

I wonder how many of these people going to food banks have still got their mobile phone, or Sky TV !