* Everything that follows is true. But names and locations have all been changed for obvious reasons *
As my loyal reader knows only too well, I am constantly banging on about food banks in general and our little food bank here in the made-up town of Melchester in particular. And so it is today, following the alarming news from up and down the country that donations from the public, upon which the entire food bank system totally depends, have been steadily falling, not least at the one in Melchester where I hear “donations have gone off a cliff”. You will have to take my word for it that this is an actual fact and not a throwaway anecdote.
Food banks issue emergency parcels which contain basic foods and essential toiletries. Due to falling donations, we have had to reduce the number of items that go into an emergency parcel. Put simply, instead of issuing noodles, pasta and rice, we offer our callers noodles, pasta or rice. Let’s be absolutely clear what that means: people in food poverty are still being helped by food banks but not by as much as they were helped before. People who come to us with nothing leave with something to alleviate the immediate crisis but there’s less of it. As a volunteer in Melchester, I do not feel good about it, to say the least.
Despite everything, this is still a relatively rich country. One problem is that the very richest people have a far larger proportion of the country’s wealth than the poorest. Believe me when I say I am not one of those people who parrots the politics of envy. On the contrary, I celebrate success that comes from honest toil. I also believe that those with the broadest shoulders should carry the largest burden of taxation, not so that it leaves them struggling so badly that they need to visit a food bank, but that they make a meaningful contribution to the greater good.
The people I have seen every week for the last three-and-a-half years do not come under a particular heading of, say, the deserving and non-deserving poor. No two people are the same. Many of our callers are in often insecure, low paid work, others are homeless/sofa surfing/sleeping rough, on various unemployment or disability benefits, recovering or current drug addicts; basically every group of people except pensioners. I am a little old fashioned, I’m afraid, and I still get a little angry about living in a country which tolerates a situation in which some 14 million people are living through food insecurity. I think most people are good people and share my abhorrence of food poverty so why is it still so prevalent? Many reasons.
The cost of living crisis is definitely one reason. Many of us are belt-tightening at the moment, a situation which will only get worse as the damaging economic effects of Donald Trump’s war on Iran play havoc with our way of life. Also, food banks are, sadly, in competition with numerous other charities for the shrinking pot of money that’s available to help pay for good causes and charities that exist only to provide items for one-off events like Easter (eggs) and Christmas (hampers). Sure, there may be people who simply don’t believe food poverty exists and/or that people who come to see us are somehow feckless scroungers. I understand that, I really do, but my lifelong experience of working on the frontline of the public sector has given me a decent antenna to cut through the bullshit. Very few people “try it on” in my experience and what would it say about someone’s state of desperation of they were genuinely trying to defraud a food bank? It probably happens but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t on my watch.
It’s actually very easy to help people in food poverty. Some supermarkets – Morrisons is an example – allow you to make a donation to the Trussell Trust, all of which goes to the front line and that’s what we do with our online shop. You can also buy a small bag of already packed food and donate it at the food bank drop off point. You can even drop something off at your local food bank in person or set up a standing order. As the supermarket behemoth Tesco always says, every little helps. And it does. Even a quid can buy some baked beans, tinned tomatoes, a pot noodle or whatever.
I certainly don’t think compassion fatigue is playing a part in the fall in donations. It’s more complicated than that. I’m certainly not going to beg you to donate. It’s entirely a matter for you what you spend your money on. All I will say is that food banks are an effective way or helping people through emergencies. We do not see the same people week in, week out, because that would suggest there’s a long term issue and those people would be helped to find solutions elsewhere. Food banks are solely here for the here and now.
Food bank rationing does not sit easily with me. In fact, I can hardly believe it’s happening. In the end, only politicians can end food poverty. We’re just the sticking plaster until they do. And now that the state is no longer the last resort for emergencies, food banks are more important than ever. I hope you can help, even a little bit. I’d like to say things can’t go on as they are, but I’m afraid they probably will.
