Use of food banks triple in one year

[????]

El Pibe Wrote:

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> I'm not quite sure where you stand on global

> warming. Are you saying it's not happening or just

> that there's no point trying to do anything about

> it?

I am saying that what we are doing is ineffective and largely a symbolic gesture to the tortured consciencse of the middle classes, with their cars, and flights, and houses stuffed with electronic gadgets... and whilst increased energy costs are a bit of a pain for them (us) they are a matter of life and death for many less fortunate.

[DaveR]

More on this from the Independent:

[www.independent.co.uk]

This doesn't really takes us any further than the Guardian piece. Saying this:

"I wonder if it has crossed his mind that until the arrival of the ?free food? people had spent months or years in daily hunger."

doesn't make it true, and in fact there's no evidence that it is true. It's just an easy, thoughtless throwaway comment from a journalist who'll be spouting crap about something else the following day.

It's so easy to say "people are using food banks, therefore they don't have enough money to eat, this is a rich country, it's a scandal". IMHO a more rational analysis would be "people are using food banks, this is a rich country (with a well established welfare system), it's unlikely that the problem is as simple as people not having enough money to eat".

I have huge sympathy for people who find themselves in crisis, and I'm pretty convinced that the vast majority of people using food banks are not taking the p!ss, but are victims of all sorts of unhappy circumstances. I just don't agree that political grandstanding or asserting my moral superiority is likely to help, in the short term or the long term. I donate to food banks.

[El Pibe]

I love the use of 'their' ;-)

So what do you propose, given that renewables are an inefficient and expensive blight, nobody wants to use low energy lightbulbs cos they're pricey and poke out of lampshades and apparently it'll cost money to sort things out (which is of course _Actually_ the point, rather than to salve 'middle class' consciences (because of course nobody else owns a fridge, widescreen LED tv or smart phone)?

( )( ) ) () )) ) ) ( )( ) some more parentheses because there weren't enough.

[????]

you didn't notice "them (us)"then :)

[The Minkey]

This is the kind of thing that is happening due to the welfare changes: http://www.islingtontribune.com/news/2013/oct/%E2%80%98absolute-hell%E2%80%99-after-benefits-were-axed-atos

The new system is letting people down badly. This woman's GP and consultants all deemed her unfit to work but this evidence was ignored and a decision made by someone unqualified to judge. Although she eventually won her appeal, she suffered many months of real hardship. Foodbanks can be a great help in these circumstances

[LadyDeliah]

Something from a Human Rights law perspective:

http://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2013/10/18/should-we-have-an-enforceable-right-to-food-professor-geraldine-van-bueren/#more-19893

[Loz]

Interesting concept, but how would it be delivered? Benefits part-paid in food stamps?

[numbers]

???? Wrote:

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> add in 22% for green and various carbon capture

> costs to appease Middle Class conscious but have

> F>All impact on global warming. All populists

> rubbish which will lead to massive underinvestment

> and incraesing decrepit infrastructure....but it's

> ok it boost mr Milliband's popularity, don't worry

bang on. all done by the last mob and carried on by Huhne.

[LadyDeliah]

The UN Special Rapporteur made some pretty damning comments on the rise of food poverty in the UK and other developed countries:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/un-official-alarmed-by-rise-of-food-banks-in-uk-8498791.html

http://huff.to/138jSQ8

[Alec1]

increase in usage of food banks. Those on benefits usually don't have extra money to spend on luxuries. So the electric, gas, food, rent, council tax, water goes up big time. What little they might have extra goes to pay the increse on those and then that in turn cuts into the money they have aside for food and other essentials.

Delays in benefits are caused by many reasons, some are: a. payments not arriving in time, b. people being sanctioned for the stupidest of reasons, c. benefits being stopped due to ATOS deeming them fit to work when they aren't and then the claimant starting an appeal. Benefits stop during this appeal process. There are so many reasons why benefits are late. I could go on and on and on about this but one thing I feel very strongly about is, unless you have ACTUALLY lived on benefits without the support of family and friends then you have no right to judge. I am sick to death of people assuming that because you are on benefits that you are a scrounger as depicted on various TV programs and many newspapers which I wouldn't even use as emergency loo paper!

Thankfully I am lucky, I have not had to use food banks, but if I had to I would.

[Loz]

Alec1 Wrote:

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> ... unless you have ACTUALLY lived on benefits without the support of family and

> friends then you have no right to judge.

I'm not disagreeing with your other comments, but I hate it when people say this. It's not valid and only serves to try and shut down debate. I mean, why not apply it to other situations?

- "oooh unless you've actually been a Southwark bin man you have no right to judge"

- "oooh unless you've actually been parent of a child running around the coffee shop you have no right to judge"

- "oooh unless you've actually been a member of the royal family you have no right to judge"

People have opinions. They're allowed to have opinions.

[Mason]

But then many of the people on benefits living in the stae funded home enjoy Sat TV proberbly have the LED Tvs and enjoy the takeaway, and a regular time at the Pub, but when they run out off the money they receive, they resort to the food bank. I have seen this happen and am really shocked at how much money is actually wasted.

I pay my way, it is hard and a struggle and I understand the situations can change, but it is a matter off understanding your situation and living by those means assesable to you, but this will not happen as Christams is coming up and presents will be the priority.

[LadyDeliah]

Mason Wrote:

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> But then many of the people on benefits living in

> the stae funded home enjoy Sat TV proberbly have

> the LED Tvs and enjoy the takeaway, and a regular

> time at the Pub, but when they run out off the

> money they receive, they resort to the food bank.

> I have seen this happen and am really shocked at

> how much money is actually wasted.

You know this for a fact do you?

The people I know on benefits rarely have enough for a takeaway unless it's a portion of chips and can't afford to go to the pub either. They can just about get through the week/fortnight without running out of (cheap) food.

[Alec1]

Loz Wrote:

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> - "oooh unless you've actually been a Southwark

> bin man you have no right to judge"

> - "oooh unless you've actually been parent of a

> child running around the coffee shop you have no

> right to judge"

> - "oooh unless you've actually been a member of

> the royal family you have no right to judge"

>

All of those examples are exactly right, I have no right to judge.

Actually, unless you have walked in my shoes, you have no right to judge.

Everyone has a right to an opinion, but make it an informed one.

[DaveR]

"Actually, unless you have walked in my shoes, you have no right to judge."

What about judges? Those people whose job it is to judge things? Does a family court judge have to have been divorced, a criminal judge have to have been to prison?

As Loz said, it's an entirely spurious way of closing down legitimate debate. I don't have an informed opinion on why a particular person, who I know nothing about, might use a food bank, but I have a perfectly valid opinion on why food bank use generally may have increased. See page 1 of this thread for some sensible debate.

[Otta]

But you don't need to be on benefits to know about them.

And I'm not disagreeing with any of your points by the way, I just don't think you can say you can't have an informed opinion about something unless you're living it. We'd all be very insular if that was the case.

[Otta]

Went away from PC then came back and posted so missed DaveR's post. But basically, what he said.

[Loz]

Alec1 Wrote:

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> Everyone has a right to an opinion, but make it an informed one.

Sorry, but unless you have an uninformed opinion, you have no right to judge.

[TE44]

Goverment underfire for rejecting EU food bank funding.

http://welfarenewsservice.com/government-fire-rejecting-european-union-food-bank-funding/