More than half a million Britons are using food banks to stave off hunger and destitution
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| A volunteer at a Trussell Trust food bank sorts donations to the charity |
Since the early part of
2012, I have been posting the occasional comment, in this and other
media, on the subject of Foodbanks and the way in which they have
become a growing feature of British society.
Today, I return to that
subject in the wake of new evidence which indicates that this
scandalous phenomena continues to grow and is accelerating at at
alarming rate.
In December of 2012, it
was predicted that this year, 2013, foodbanks would be feeding some
200,000 people, double the number of 2012. It is now May, less than
six months into 2013, and the figure is more than 500,000, more than
half a million people who are today reliant to some extent or other
on the provision of charity food distributed though Foodbanks around
the country.
Reading through the
comments sections of many national papers and those newspapers
appearing only on line, it is sad and often quite nauseating to read
a few, though fortunately not the majority, of contributions which
can only be described as malicious in content or tone and mischievous
in intent. Constant references to living on benefits, 57inch plasma
televisions, scroungers buying booze and cigarettes before food, and
other even more odious references litter the contributions. These
nasty postings are aimed directly at those people, the majority of
whom through no fault of their own, find themselves in the position
of having to rely on the charities in order to feed themselves and
their families, and who initially have to endure means tested
assessments in order to obtain a referral letter from one or other of
the appropriate bodies.
There are many Foodbank
users in this country. Today there are more than 500,000 people
visiting Foodbanks regularly. Admittedly there are some, a small
minority, who abuse the system by convincing a referrer that they are
in need, and thus manage to obtain an appropriate authorisation.
However, the vast majority of users are ordinary people many of whom
are actually in paid employment, but who's level of additional
benefit is insufficient to meet the ever increasing day to day living
costs.
There are those who may
have recently been made redundant and now find the significant
reduction of their income a considerable problem. Then there are
those, such as the disabled, who find that their benefits are either
reduced, or frozen, leading to financial hardship. There are many
groups of people who for one reason or another find that the costs of
everyday living are such that there is never enough disposable income
to meet all needs and consequently, having paid the absolutely
essential household bills, find that some assistance with food is
welcome. The pedlars of bile, spite and prejudice, who's letters fill
the comments sections, may consider themselves fortunate that they
are not in the position of others and may perhaps pray that their
circumstances do not change for the worse at some point in the
future.
Not only is the increasing
reliance on Foodbanks a phenomenon about which we should all feel
shame, but the comments by politicians from the ConDem coalition
exacerbate a problems which has been gaining momentum for decades.
Chris Steward, York Tory councillor claimed in January this year
that, Foodbanks are for people who can't budget and today, Ed Davey
denies any connection between the rise in Foodbank user numbers and
government policy. These comments, and remarks by others, are by
accident or design, creating divisions in society and aggravating
other splits which are already there.
Foodbanks and the usage of
them is growing at an alarming rate. In Great Britain, in the first
part of the 21st Century, it is to our shame that we have
collectively allowed such a situation to come about. Unless we act
soon to reverse the current trend the number of people reliant on the
Foodbank charities may well be in excess of one million by the end of
this year, less than 6 months from now. History will be a stern judge
if we allow such a situation to come about.
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