More than a million have used UK food banks in the past year

[Herr Tubthumper]

You do have a massive chip on your shoulder though.

It's probably from living in Bishop Stortford. I know the place well.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

My Mum volunteers in a food bank in Hastings and I think you would be surprised by the type of person that uses them. She sees many more recently unemployed professionals who had well paid jobs but have hit hard times than your stereotypical 'dole scum'/council estate type.

In answer to a previous post, you need to be referred by the local authority and present vouchers in order to receive the food.

Without pretending to have the answers, I find it very sad that in such a rich and comparatively prosperous developed nation, there are still people living in poverty and forced to turn to schemes like the food banks.

Thanks for providing some insight. I'm getting fed up with some of the idiots on here who have no idea what the reality is.

 

[mikeyjh]

Wages went a lot further in the past though. Rent and energy have far outstripped inflation.

And I do feel people should feel entitled to be able to buy food in a country which David Cameron himself said is "wealthy." He is quite happy to give "whatever it takes" to flood victims..why no sort out food poverty as well?

Ahh, the flood victims of Somerset and the Thames valley, now there's a set of people with a sense of entitlement.... Didn't here so much of the low taxes and small state at that time. Bloody scroungers.

 

[seagully]

Thanks for providing some insight. I'm getting fed up with some of the idiots on here who have no idea what the reality is.

Part of her role is to ask people for food donations at supermarkets and whilst overwhelmed by the generosity of some, others have similar views to those on here and refuse to donate as they presume the beneficiaries of the scheme are work shy scroungers. I'm not claiming that every person using the food banks is in the situation through no fault of their own but every citizen of a modern, developed nation should at the very least have enough to eat and feed their family.

 

[narly101]

I find it very difficult to be objectionable in instances like this when I know a mother of three young girls in my area, who buys her family 5 pot noodles for dinner, 20 bensons and a bottle of wine for £15.

 

[Frampler]

In 1981 the average wage was £7,000 - (£22,750)

In 1981 unemployment stood at over 2.5 million

Spending on welfare was £30 billion - (£97.5 billion)

Equivalent 2013 figures in brackets


In 2013 the figures were -

Average wage - £26,500

Unemployment - 2,5 million

Spending on welfare - £110 billion

So over the last 30 odd years average wages have increased by 16% in real terms, unemployment has stayed the same, (which means more people are working because the population has grown), and spending on benefits has increased by 12%.

A simplistic approach I accept but have people's expectations of what the state can provide grown over the last 30 odd years or has the ability to cope fallen?

The state's ability to cope has fallen, because life expectancy has increased in that period, thus increasing the share of the welfare bill taken up by pensions. Moreover, there are far fewer council houses than there were in 1981, so a good portion of the welfare bill has instead been taken up by paying housing benefit direct to private landlords - this is massively inefficient.

 

[Nibble]

Of course the biggest problem is that MP's don't actually have to pay for the things that cost others so much: Petrol, power, rent/mortgage, travel, and food. This makes them unaware of how much of a dent this puts on income. Combine that with a few years of Blair with his snout in the trough and then Cameron, running the most corrupt and carefree government since Thatcher and no wonder the country is in irreversible decline.

 

[Pavilionaire]

These topics so quickly turn politics when, in reality, there are a number of social and economic factors that make it no surprise food bank user numbers are rising:

1. Our economy is growing, attracting immigrants who start with very little.
2. Essentials like council tax, electric and gas have grown incredibly fast over recent years, eating in to disposable income.
3. People live away from their families, there aren't the same support networks that used to exist.
4. The rest of the world is catching up with us, and a significant proportion of our indigenous "workforce" don't have the skills to cope.
5. There is a timelag working here, where people still expect the state will support them whereas in reality the changes are already biting. The writing was already on the wall when the banks collapsed in 2007-08.

 

[Nibble]

These topics so quickly turn politics when, in reality, there are a number of social and economic factors that make it no surprise food bank user numbers are rising:

1. Our economy is growing, attracting immigrants who start with very little.
2. Essentials like council tax, electric and gas have grown incredibly fast over recent years, eating in to disposable income.
3. People live away from their families, there aren't the same support networks that used to exist.
4. The rest of the world is catching up with us, and a significant proportion of our indigenous "workforce" don't have the skills to cope.
5. There is a timelag working here, where people still expect the state will support them whereas in reality the changes are already biting. The writing was already on the wall when the banks collapsed in 2007-08.

All but arguably point 3 of that list are partially if not wholly political issues.

 

[Uncle C]

Right, a question for you.

Which of these items is it OK to spend money on before expecting someone else to feed you and your kids?

1 Smoking
2 Sky TV
3 Mobile phones
4 Sophisticated computers
5 Big screen TVs
6 Alcohol
7 New (not second hand) furniture
8 Designer clothes
9 Foreign holidays
10 Cars
11 Play stations and games

 

[Triggaaar]

It's okay, looks like average wages are going to be up 1.8% so there is no problem, definitely not. And growth is up, which absolutely proves that Osbourne's 'strategy' is correct.

I get the feeling that this is sarcastic, but it's over my head.

 

[beorhthelm]

Wages went a lot further in the past though.

i don't believe that is at all true, i'm sure numbers i saw a while ago show inflation adjusted wages are higher than the 60's and basics like food, cloths, common electrical are lower. rent i'm not sure, but energy has because we have demanded it too for environmental concerns. in general we just want more today.

all of which is someone irrelevant to the issue here, actual food poverty. its apparent that people would rather kick the issue around as a party political football and not ask whats really the root of the problem. i'd say its the structure of benefits and how their provision that needs to be addressed, because clearly with a £110bn welfare state a food bank should be redundant.

 

[Pavilionaire]

All but arguably point 3 of that list are partially if not wholly political issues.

I'll concede that the Tories and Lib Dems have jointly agreed to tighten up on state benefits to a greater degree than Labour would have done, but the rest of the stuff is mainly socio-economic and external factors. What gets lost is that there is a great opportunity for growth by tapping into emerging markets, and we have a record amount of people engaged in work in this country.

The challenge for any government is to try and deal with the "underclass" away from benefit dependency and into work. If millions of Poles can come here with little and making a living without sponging off the state it shows that it can be done.

 

[somerset]

Nope, they were not. It's about time the Tory government stopped blaming Labour to cover up their **** ups. There is only so long you can keep saying "But Sir, a bigger boy did it and ran away".

2007 - 2011 - 5 fold increase in foodbanks due to the world banking crisis.

 

[Nibble]

If governments and corporations stopped avoiding tax, funding wars and taking far more than they are entitled to we could use that money to feed, clothe and educate every single human being on earth. Perhaps we could then not have to worry about who's earned the right to be able to eat and have an acceptable standard of living because I tell you, forget people who don't work, David Cameron has most certainly NOT earned the position of privilege he has found himself in and the same can be said of 90% of MP's.

 

[Uncle C]

If governments and corporations stopped avoiding tax, funding wars and taking far more than they are entitled to we could use that money to feed, clothe and educate every single human being on earth.

Better known as communism and going really well in Russia.

 

[father_and_son]

WTF?

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/article4064690.ece

Is Cameron's UK turning into Ethiopia?

There is of course the irksome issue of the numbers quoted [potentially] being b*ll*cks...

He's my pedantic view:
Its not 1 million as per the headline, its just over 900,000. So some gratuitous exaggeration there straight away!

The article says..."913,000 people had received three days’ emergency food"

If the purpose of the article is to make it look like a larger problem than there really is, there is no incentive to avoid double counting.

"913,000 different people obtained food for their family of 4, some of them many times" is a lot of handouts
...however...
"913,000 times this year, someone benefited from a handout" could potentially as few as 19,000 families (if at the extreme, you assume each family is 4 people and each got a handout once a month on average).



Not saying its right or wrong that the situation is there, just saying the vague use of language could well be making a relatively small story look a lot bigger! At best lazy journalism, at worst blatant lies to make a political point.

 

[Nibble]

Better known as communism and going really well in Russia.

You could benefit from some of that education I mentioned eh! The problem with dinosaurs like yourself is you have to subscribe to a model presented to you by someone else. You don't think for yourself. Nowt wrong with people striving for a better life through a capitalist work ethic but you can simultaneously make sure all people are provided for.

You have to be some kind of ostrich to think that people with full time jobs, who pay taxes and have to attend food banks is in ANY way an acceptable state of affairs.

 

[Norman Baker suck my lozenge]

Did you you hear the one about the Banker,the Daily Mail journalist,the compassionate Lady and the food bank user?
They're all sitting round a table with 10 digestive biscuits on it,the Banker immediately takes 9 of them when no one is looking,he quietly gives 2 of his newly acquired biscuits to the journo,the Journo taps the compassionate lady on the shoulder and whispers," see that food bank user?I bet he's after your biscuit."

 

[mikeyjh]

Better known as communism and going really well in Russia.

Yes, those bastians of communism - Clamping down on corporate tax envasion and not funding wars