As a committed atheist, verging it has to be said on antitheism, you may find it odd that for the last three-and-a-half years I have been a volunteer at Britain’s largest food bank charity, odd because the Trussell Trust is a ‘Christian-based organisation’. Ours, like many, is based in a church, here in the imaginary town of Melchester and apparently “we are inspired by the call of the Prophet Micah, of what is good and what God requires of us: to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Let me level with you: the only Micah I know is the former footballer turned pundit Micah Richards and I am more likely to be inspired by this one than a prophet who probably never existed. Moreover, I could not give a toss about what a God who isn’t there “requires of us“. I help out because governments have absolved their responsibility for caring for its poorest citizens and if volunteers don’t step up, then currently no one will.
None of which is to belittle the efforts of the devout in the fight against food poverty. I certainly don’t want to do that because clearly there is no league table of who cares more than anyone else. Here in Melchester, home of the legendary footballer Roy Race, he of Roy of the Rovers (one for the teenagers there) we have an eclectic mix of folk, varying from God-fearing Christians, Agnostics (or fence-sitters as I somewhat rudely call them) through to hardline atheists like me and I would like to think that we all care equally about the plight of those with nothing.
I have many concerns about the role of charities in our country. Benefit changes made by the Conservatives from 2010 to 2024, assisted for five years by the Liberal Democrats, threw millions of people into poverty and charities were left to pick up the slack, with food banks becoming the last resort for people who might not otherwise eat. The reality is that charities have been doing that for as long as I can remember. Think of the RNLI, the Air Ambulance Service, Blood Bikes, the Royal British Legion and many more charities who are, to all intents and purposes providing front line services by workers doing the job for free. I would argue that our country would fall apart but for charities who no longer just plug the gaps. They are doing things that the government used to do and, in my view, should still be doing. I am conflicted by that, too, because I am part of the sticking plaster solution to food poverty which frankly isn’t a solution at all.
The rise of food banks, and other charities carrying out vital work, can fairly be attributed to the actions of government, as I explained earlier. But not only did governments cruelly throw millions into poverty, the Conservative/Liberal Democrat government of 2010 to 2015 tried to normalise the involvement of charities to run public services. David Cameron’s so-called Big Idea was The Big Society. This was how he described his Big Society in 2010:
“The Big Society is about a huge culture change where people, in their everyday lives, in their homes, in their neighbourhoods, in their workplace don’t always turn to officials, local authorities or central government for answers to the problems they face but instead feel both free and powerful enough to help themselves and their own communities.”
Hmm. Okay, Dave. But soon, he gave the game away, referring to “budget deficits” and the need to cut public spending, claiming that: “For years, there was the basic assumption at the heart of government that the way to improve things in society was to micromanage from the centre, from Westminster. But this just doesn’t work.”
But here’s the thing: things were not all “micromanaged from the centre“. New Labour, as Labour rebranded itself to be, was hugely successful with a stunning array of achievements to its name. Nothing could have been more local than Sure Start, which transformed millions of lives, until the Tories and their partners the treacherous Lib Dems gradually took it apart in the name of austerity which they aimed deliberately at the poorest and most vulnerable people in society. Cameron’s Big Society was always about getting people to do stuff for free that the state, and local councils, used to provide. Though the Big Society largely failed, austerity didn’t, as services were hollowed out and millions of people were abandoned. That led directly to the vast expansion of the food banks we see today.
Inevitably, religious organisations picked up some of the slack, including the Trussell Trust, which operates most food banks in our country. I remain proud to be a volunteer but I am not proud of the apparent lack of political action that is, in my view, needed to eliminate food poverty in our country.
Food banks rely on donations from the public and the last thing I would want to do is to stop people donating and if people want to do fundraisers in order to boost the limited resources of food banks – and the concerning issue is that donations in some areas have gone off a cliff, as one official said – I would urge, I would ask, them to do so, but that in itself isn’t enough.
I repeat that I am proud to work at a food bank but I am ashamed that they need to exist in the first place. The challenge for food banks, and all other charities that carry out vital functions, is not just to provide sticking plaster solutions but to campaign politically, not necessarily party politically, to demand that governments carry out their duty to look out for the Great British Public. I do not want to be feted or thanked for what I do at the food bank: I want my efforts and financially contributions to be recognised by way of better campaigning in order to put me out of a job.
God has had no effect on food poverty because, as I say, he isn’t there, so it’s down to the rest of us. If we really want to eliminate food poverty, then we can. Despite our problems, this remains one of the richest countries in the world. Food poverty exists because of choices we make. Prayer won’t work, politics can. I don’t want Godwhackers to stop praying if it floats their boat but I want solutions in the here and now. If we don’t demand change from the leaders who do exist and hold the power, there is little likelihood of change coming about as a result of those who don’t.
