justified righteous anger, now to plug the message on social media, the tories are running scared on this.
Foodbanks
- Thread starter Welsh lad
- Start date
justified righteous anger, now to plug the message on social media, the tories are running scared on this.
I wonder if people know that E/U structrural funds to the U.K are being used to fund workfare schemes and to pay Corps like A4E for their pathetic training schemes, I wonder if the EU is happy about this? they must be, its much more right wing since the A8 eastern European countries joined.
classicdish
Well-Known Member
Not OK at all.
The headlines could be taken as suggesting that 1 million people are currently being helped via food banks, but in fact (if my very basic sums are even vaguely accurate) then less than 8000 people currently are right now.
Saying that 'x numbers of food parcels are given out per year' doesn't actually give an accurate indication of how many people are living in food poverty in the UK. I am having a Google around now to see if I can find any more figures, but seeing as there are over 2 million out of work and over 1 million on JSA then I am guessing that far more than 8000 people could actually do with more and better food.
most foodbanks including the trussell trust have maximum limits on the number of times people can be referred, usually 2 or 3, so that's only 6-9 days food max. They do make exceptions, but in most cases the problems are short benefit sanctions, benefit delays (no crisis loans anymore) and temporary shortages. I presume if people cant get their budgets squeezed down once they have a live claim they are either abandoned to beg and steal, or if kids are involved/they are 'vulnerable' then social services become the port of call for referrers rather than foodbanks.
spring-peeper
Well-Known Member
It may be a disgrace that they need to exist.
But they exist, and they fill a need.
Be proud of the community coming together to fill this need.
How much do you donate?
Manter
Lunch Mob
You can only use food banks a certain number of times. One local to here it's three times in a rolling 12 month period. It's supposed to be emergency food aid, not a long term thing to be relied upon- so that has to be factored into the numbers, and means many more than 7,000 people
E2a what smokedout said
Foodbanks were only intended as a stop gap. The demand for theiir services as engineered by these demons in government puts them at risk because ultimately they will struggle (donations notwithstanding).
I think it's inaccurate to say only 8000 people are using them because of this, and also they signpost people to more suitable services that can help with the specifics of their issue, such as debt or benefit advice. Foodbanks are being placed in untenable situations and the government is using them to avoid their own responsibility to society. What is happening is a massive crisis and i bet these figures are the tip of the iceberg.
I think it's inaccurate to say only 8000 people are using them because of this, and also they signpost people to more suitable services that can help with the specifics of their issue, such as debt or benefit advice. Foodbanks are being placed in untenable situations and the government is using them to avoid their own responsibility to society. What is happening is a massive crisis and i bet these figures are the tip of the iceberg.
purenarcotic
Conveniently Pocket Sized
The BBC news article I read said that 913,000 people had used a food bank and that 1/3 of these were repeat visits. That's considerably more than 8 thousand,
Doctor Carrot
Marxist Henchman
'I dunno what you lefties are moaning about! Didn't ya hear? Wages are 1% above inflation now! 1%! Everything's gonna be fine. We've totally fixed the economy' 
purenarcotic
Conveniently Pocket Sized
'I dunno what you lefties are moaning about! Didn't ya hear? Wages are 1% above inflation now! 1%! Everything's gonna be fine. We've totally fixed the economy'
Was that aimed at me? I certainly wasn't saying it was ok, I was pointing out that to me the figures look worse than being discussed 0_o
Doctor Carrot
Marxist Henchman
It wasn't aimed at anyone on here. It was a summary of what the tories and their echo chamber will say/are saying.
brogdale
Coming to terms with late onset Anarchism
'I dunno what you lefties are moaning about! Didn't ya hear? Wages are 1% above inflation now! 1%! Everything's gonna be fine. We've totally fixed the economy'
On a more serious (?) note....Faisal Islam made an interesting observation last night that if bonus payments were stripped out of the data the govt. figure of 1.7% mean wage increase is reduced to 1.3%. So simply taking out the city bonuses makes a very significant dent in the number and gives the lie to the state propaganda.
And this at a time when, to some extent, city salaries have risen markedly to 'compensate' for slightly restricted bonuses. Of course average wage increases, in this context, are completely meaningless to the vast majority of working people, and it was good to see some media reinforcing that point with vox pop ranging from the sceptical to the downright angry.
Doctor Carrot
Marxist Henchman
There's certainly nearly always bullshit hidden away under statistics somewhere, particularly with government statistics. I can't quite recall it being worse than it is under this current shower though, Labour were bad enough and of course Thatcher's unemployment stats were rigged but this shower!? It's quite extraordinary. The wage increases are largely down to city wage increases, the unemployment figures are full of shit what with fake self employed selling shit on ebay, being on work fare and classed as employed, zero hours contracts, the millions underemployed and so on. Worst of all you get the DWP misusing statistics to fit their agenda, outright lying about statistics and saying things like 'there's no robust evidence to say X' even when there's plenty!
It would be comedy gold if people's lives weren't at stake. Something I did find amusing though was my Irish neighbour telling me about Ireland's government claiming they've solved unemployment and have started growing the economy mainly through tourist revenue. How have they achieved this amazing feat you might ask? Well, pretty much all of their youth have fucked off so that solves unemployment and when they come back for a visit? Hey presto! Rising tourist revenues!
It would be comedy gold if people's lives weren't at stake. Something I did find amusing though was my Irish neighbour telling me about Ireland's government claiming they've solved unemployment and have started growing the economy mainly through tourist revenue. How have they achieved this amazing feat you might ask? Well, pretty much all of their youth have fucked off so that solves unemployment and when they come back for a visit? Hey presto! Rising tourist revenues!
I wonder how many people can't access foodbanks.
Where I live the nearest is a 10 mile bus journey away. There are no village based foodbanks that I know of; nothing local.
This is part of a wider problem with support for rural communities where, i suspect, the tories think everyone votes for them (too many do, here, though fortunately our councillor is indepndent - for now) and has lots of money.
Maybe some foodbanks deliver, but not all can afford long round trips out of town. So what happens then? Even getting to the jobcentre is the same journey, and when that has to come out of non existent money to keep the claim that's been sanctioned open, for example, it becomes difficult in ways the media doesn't report.
Where I live the nearest is a 10 mile bus journey away. There are no village based foodbanks that I know of; nothing local.
This is part of a wider problem with support for rural communities where, i suspect, the tories think everyone votes for them (too many do, here, though fortunately our councillor is indepndent - for now) and has lots of money.
Maybe some foodbanks deliver, but not all can afford long round trips out of town. So what happens then? Even getting to the jobcentre is the same journey, and when that has to come out of non existent money to keep the claim that's been sanctioned open, for example, it becomes difficult in ways the media doesn't report.
Doctor Carrot
Marxist Henchman
Probably loads of people can't access. The one time I went I had to get a lift because I didn't have money to get a bus. I don't live in a rural area but it's still some distance.
Should also point out that these recent figures are only from Trussel aren't they? The one I visited wasn't run by Trussel.
Should also point out that these recent figures are only from Trussel aren't they? The one I visited wasn't run by Trussel.
Doctor Carrot
Marxist Henchman
Do you reckon? See I don't think they are. They'll just deflect attention from it with something along the lines of what I said earlier. The propaganda of pull yaself up by ya boot straps, benefit claimants are scroungers and blah blah has been so relentless over decades, not just this parliament, that I don't think people living on food hand outs are going to make people who aren't not vote tory. I remember you yourself mentioned your disbelief about the general public not getting more angry over atos. If the public aren't going to get angry enough over ill people dying from the stress of all the form filling and tests why would they suddenly get angry over people they already perceive to be scroungers going to food banks?
ElizabethofYork
Old Crone
There's a lot of misunderstanding about food banks out there. I was discussing this with some people yesterday, and the general consensus seemed to be that they are used by spongers who can't be bothered to get a job. They were surprised when I told them that people have to be referred to food banks by other agencies, and that often people have to wait a long time for their benefits to come through.
The propaganda about spongers has definitely been successful.
The propaganda about spongers has definitely been successful.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Pretty much.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Tressel Trust aren't the only providers, by a long chalk. There are loads of church and non-religious community organisations doing this too.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Your figures aren't correct, because they don't include any calculation as to persistence of use, or any data about other FB providers. Fortunately for the government, because FB provision is in many cases community-based, or church-affiliated, as opposed to state-affiliated (The Tressel Trust and those who sign up to it), quantifying use-volume is difficult.
ViolentPanda
Hardly getting over it.
Unfortunately (for us) some of the foodbanks are fairly informal, relying entirely on community donations, and are therefore hard to factor into usage figures. Not that I'm bothered that they put their energies to helping people, rather than filling out tick-boxes for some Whitehall Muppet-molester.
BlueSquareThing
With chips
The one here - East Suffolk - will deliver if they have to. I'm not sure how easy it is to get them to do so, but rural deprivation is clear from a number of the census data so that might make things a bit easier perhaps. It's Trussell fwiw.
savoloysam
Ready to move into the light
I don't see the tories running scared on anything AT ALL. Polls show that over 30% of the electorate will be voting for them at the next GE and if they don't get in they have fucked up enough shit that neither labour or anyone else will bother to change again. Then they can just sit and wait until next time to continue their war against the poor and lower classes.
classicdish
Well-Known Member
The figure is 913,000 food parcels (which each contain three days of emergency food supplies) over a 12 month period. This is equal to 2,739,000 days worth of food (913,000 x 3 = 2,739,000) per year.
This means that every day 7504 daily rations are being handed out (2,739,000 / 365 = 7504). Since each day they are being handed out to different people then this equals far more than 7504 people helped over a period of a year.
My point was working out roughly how many people are being fed each/every day by the Tressel Trust (not per year). I recognise there are other foodbanks and other food providers (eg soup kitchens) etc.
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
I wasn't doubting it, but it is customary to ask for supporting evidence on urban, mainly because I wanted to read more about it.
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
Surely righteous anger is always justified? Else it isn't righteous.
It's far from unlikely they, somehow, will get into power again. I suspect the result next year will be a hung parliament. The opposition is so anemic they have allowed the 'labour can't be trusted with your money' message to take root. It's depressing. I couldn't bear another five years of this monster and I have no doubt Clegg will rush to get back into bed with Dave while Ed will refuse a coalition and sign his own death warrant. Can't blame him if he refuses though; Clegg is totally tainted.
ItWillNeverWork
Messy Crimbobs, fellow humans.
Oh Christ, I just had a vision of Clegg and Ed (or Cleggward, if you like) standing behind lecterns in the Rose Garden together. I'm never voting again if that happens.
tony.c
Well-Known Member
If the Libdems do as badly as expected Clegg will probably stand down as leader, and Milliband might go into coalition with a new libdem leader.
