How do you feel about food banks?

[Tanaqui]

Those are the people whom taxpayers should not be giving a handout to IMHO unless they start doing something productive with their lives.

 

That's loving.

 

Our value as people is not dependent on whether or not we earn money.

 

[Frances]

We've volunteered before at the one in our town, a second harvest one. I have a huge problem with the set-up. Here's why... A church (pretty sure it's not the only church around here that does it, but it's the only one I know of personally and personally know the actual members who engage in it) gets bulk orders from the food bank for "needy" church families. This "church" ( I say that term loosely, because this church disgusts me) takes that food, sets up their own personal food bank, and allows their church members to shop there, no matter their income or need. The people I personally know who shop there are extremely wealthy. They own companies. They go to their church food bank, buy groceries for how-ever-many-cents per pound and use that food in their million dollar homes *and* to feed their employees for various company functions. They won't use a grocery store, because they can get the food for next to nothing at the food bank for NEEDY people. These people are Christians. They brag about getting their groceries so cheaply. They also actively solicit donations from people to help out their church's food bank. Seriously. The church is large, prominent, and I know they're not the only ones who do this.

 

For the poll, I put that there should be strict guidelines. I would have the people who *need* help, come to the food bank, no church involvement. I'm not sure what they'd need to bring for documentation or anything like that or even if they need to bring that stuff at all. I just think the churches should stay out of it. I'm a Christian. There are very few pastors that I actually trust to minister to the needy (or anyone) the correct way. Ok, off my soapbox. I get riled up whenever I think about it. There are so many hungry families. It is absolutely unacceptable that wealthy people are taking food out of their mouths. Makes me sick.

This is absolutely shocking! I have never heard of anything like this before. It seems like they need to be reported to authorities for basically running a charity scam and taking food donations from those who actually need it.

[LucyStoner]

95 million Americans of prime working age are not in the labor force. Some are students, SAHP's or other caretakers, early retirees, or disabled. But there are a LOT who are capable of working but are neither doing so nor actively seeking employment, doing job training, etc. Those are the people whom taxpayers should not be giving a handout to IMHO unless they start doing something productive with their lives.

The popular stat you appear to be referencing is both biased and padded. It is derived merely by subtracting the number of children ages 0-16 and the number of people ages 16+ who are employed from the total US population. That right there defies the claim that they are "prime working age" as the figure doesn't actually exclude people over the age of 65.

 

This "95 million" figure includes nearly 10 million minors aged 16-17, over 20 million college students and over 40 million people ages 65+. That leaves, by your figure of 95 million, 25 million. Most pundits who cite this actually seem to claim more like 90 million so let's say between 20-25 million. In those 20-25 million we also have:

 

people who are nearly retirement age but not yet age 62 but are living off investment and pension income.

 

people ages 62-64 who have started collecting SS benefits at a reduced rate (often this is due to disability or lack of employment options)

 

people actively looking for work and counted in the ordinary unemployment rate (not the joblessness rate).

 

people who are well off enough that they can choose not to work for wages or salaries.

 

people who are collecting disability.

 

people who are disabled but not collecting disability.

 

people who are family caregivers for small children, disabled or elderly family members.

 

people who work under the table.

 

people who are nearly unemployable due to active addictions or criminal records

 

None of the above are especially small groups of people. This is a big chunk of the 20-25 million left after subtracting student, retired people and people ages 16-17 who don't have paying on the book jobs.

 

So yes, there are some people not listed above who are jobless by choice, not getting an education and who do not have family caregiving obligations. These people do not participate in the labor market, at least not on the books. Some are common criminals who deal, scam and steal.

 

But no, in truth there are nowhere near 95 million people who are just idle and could work if only they would. Even in this number we also have people who once made every effort to find work but have despaired and are unable to find work or move. These are those in the jobless rate. We have seen this number fall as the economy has added new jobs. You and I live in metro areas where jobs are presently not especially scarce but many people live where it's hard to get a PT job at the local minimart.

 

Of the 46 million Americans who use food banks each year to supplement their food resources, it can hardly be said that most of them fall into that this "idle" demographic. Most of them are children, seniors, caregivers. Most of the working age adults are, get this, working or enrolled in college or both.

 

The costs of what you are supporting in terms of documentation, verification and work reqs add up. It takes quite a bit of money to implement these requirements. There's the administrative costs and also the cost of facilitating this work. "Volunteer" requirements for single parents with young children for example come with high childcare costs. Job training and life skill classes cost money as well. Who pays for that? Is the cost of all that worth the the benefits and small potential food cost savings of denying these so-called "idle people" a little bit of food? I don't think that they do.

 

Besides the costs to the government, there's the cost to the places offering the "community service jobs." Trust me when I say that not every volunteers is beneficial. I've worked for organizations who took community service volunteers, some of whom were sent from WorkFirst and were on welfare. Some of these volunteers are great. Some of them are a PITA. We decided to stop accepting people from WorkForce because it was too much of our time and money to find them something to do. We would take volunteers who contacted us directly for people who needed the hours for welfare and or civil infractions and sometimes we would take people who contacted us for hours they needed due to criminal court. But no longer those who were sent directly from WorkForce. There are not enough hours in the day. Some people are unemployable and it doesn't really matter why that is, we can't wave a wand and make them employable.

 

Part of my work (both paid and unpaid) with food banks has been grantwriting, fundraising, data collection and data reporting.

Edited January 21, 2017 by LucyStoner

[scoutingmom]

Thats only in the US though. In Australia if you need food the Bishop gives you are gift card to the local supermarket. Thank goodness they have done away with the RS president coming shopping with you to make sure you spent it wisely 🙄 The ultimate in degrading.

 

 

We have decent enough food banks in our State. The local farmers and supermarkets and bakeries are allowed to donate leftovers so long as it is not out of date. As produce is perishable people are allowed to take as much as they like. Not sure about meat but I imagine that would be rationed as with the prices these days even people with jobs can barely afford to buy it 🙄 They do have junk food like Tim Tams but those are rationed ...their philosophy is that even poor people deserve a treat which I support. But yeah..the healthy food is basically take as much as you want/need and junk food is rationed. There is plenty of fruit/vegies available though variety varies.

 

Its embarrassing to go to those places..most people wouldnt use them unless they needed to..scammers usually do other things then rip off food banks.

In my province in Canada someone from the Relief Society comes shipping with you and yes it can be degrading depending on that person. I have had it happen where it felt mostly like just going off shipping with a friend. I also had one time where they wouldn't let us buy something for one of the meals I had planned.

 

I was in a province that did have a Bishop's Storehouse and that was better, although generally you had to sit with someone and go through the list of items. For was great.

 

 

 

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[Tanaqui]

people who are family caregivers for small children, disabled or elderly family members.

 

Thank you for spelling all that out. I didn't have the energy. I just want to quote that particular segment to point out that most people on this board have at least one family member of working age who is not engaged in paid work, for just that reason. Homeschooling does, for most of us, require an adult to be, well, home. But I'm sure, Crimson Wife, that you don't mean to say that if you're a homeschooler, you should be barred from receiving charity because, after all, you chose to have a household with a stay-at-home parent?

 

[Rosie_0801]

Thank you for spelling all that out. I didn't have the energy. I just want to quote that particular segment to point out that most people on this board have at least one family member of working age who is not engaged in paid work, for just that reason. Homeschooling does, for most of us, require an adult to be, well, home.

 

That's actually considered work of some value here. Under the current laws, I'm exempt from looking for work and receive the higher dole payment for homeschooling, which is definitely not a queenly size payment. And thank goodness for that, since this is the only way I have of trying to break the cycle for future generations.

[scoutingmom]

I can't see the poll, so didn't answer it.

 

My city has a food bank. Not sure if it is run by the province or the city or what. You call/email them, and give them your provincial health care number and the number of people in the family, and you get an appointment at your local area food bank. (You can do an emergency trip to the warehouse once a year if you haven't been going.) The local food banks are held every 2 weeks (occasionally, in summer or Christmas, there isn't one and so 4 weeks then). You need to contact ahead of time.

 

What you get is mostly NOT based on family size.

 

So, at my local one, you go ahead of the appointment time (which isn't really an appointment... It just means you are on the list) and get a number based on when you get there. So if you are the 43rd to arrive, your number says 43. When they are ready to open the doors, you line up by number and you will through in line. They check your Id (if not a regular) and cross you off the list. You get 3 cards to give at tables as you go through: Kit, Bread, Milk and a little number for the number of children under 13 in your family.

 

What you get varies of course but it is roughly....

 

1 roll of toilet paper or a box of Klennex. Occasionally a few feminine hygiene. Occasionally a few diapers if needed and occasionally dog or cat food if needed.

 

1 kit.... A bag with 4 items in it. Generally 1 protein item (tuna, peanut butter, canned chicken), 1 soup, 1 pasta (KD, or a ziplock of pasta or a ziplock of rice), 1 canned vegetable or canned fruit). These are pre-bagged but you like around and pick the best you can while in line. (Note that none of this really helps a family of 6).

 

Milk 2 litres per child under 13. Sometimes some yoghurt or juice or sour cream or something.

 

A bag of onions (various 3-6)

 

A bag of potatoes (about 10-15 potatoes)

 

Other vegetables (varies by season.... Mushrooms, lettuce, turnips). Sometimes salad kits

 

Boxed stuff - varies. Sometimes cereal or crackers or protein bars or.... 1 or 2 boxes generally

 

Occasionally some details dated bakery items (items vary and first numbers get best choices)

 

Bread... Number of loaves vary from 1-4.

 

Although the food banks are not supposed to take walk-ins anymore ours does. There is one table of walk-in items (I think donated by a local church) and they can generally pick out what they like from the table (depends on how many there are) and are also given extra items from the general line that are leftover. So they might get a few cans of things, some KD and a bag of potatoes.

 

The trick is to stay after, and most people do it they have been a few times, as they will come out with perishables that are left over after everyone has gone through. So more bread will come out maybe, or some potatoes. Or the vegitables.

 

There is pretty much never meat. There is occasionally cheese. (There is a local cheese producer).

 

A couple of more notes. I love in an affluent area. If you name my neighborhood to someone in the city, it tends to make people think well off or even rich. But it is a big neighborhood. There are definitely rich areas in it and will of ones. But there are also less well-off, subsidized housing, and provincial housing... So some fairly poor. When I did free cycle, I learned not to mention my area of the city when arranging to pick something up because I had people take-back their offer when they heard I was coming from my neighbourhood.

 

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[Guest]

Naive me, I'm surprised this is even a question. Food banks should be open and available to anyone who comes and expresses a need. With the hassle and the shame, plus the low value of trading foodstuffs for anything illegal, I would assume fraud or taking advantage of the system would be low to non existent. And it's *food*, the most basic need of all after potable water.

 

I'm a huge fan of food banks, religious or community run, and even if the food isn't of perfect quality I'd rather make some available than none at all. Improving the quality is a good goal, especially of meat and produce, but I think our local food banks do a great job of this compared to some I've heard about.

 

No proving a need, no income guidelines, no limits as a basic rule of thumb. I could see the lattermost one being done on a case by case basis if someone was demonstrably defrauding it, but I haven't ever seen that happening here.

[Laura Corin]

In the UK, the main food banks are centrally administered by a charity.  They require vouchers for people to pick up food; the vouchers can be given out by other charities, GPs or social welfare organisations where people go to get help. 

 

I think that the reason for this is that they want people to know about all the help they are entitled to through the governmental safety net.  This improves their longterm situation, and the foodbank can then fill gaps before benefits come in.  Some foodbanks deliver to remote areas, so someone who visits a local GP might be able to get a delivery from a foodbank once they have their voucher.

 

My local supermarket has a permanent display where you can drop off food, and a list of things required.  I follow the list but choose the healthier options (lower sugar, fewer ingredients).

[Carrie12345]

There are very poor people living almost everywhere. I can list off more than a dozen very posh areas in my county that have large but often all but invisible pockets of poverty. There are also people living in very nice areas who may experience a sudden change of circumstances.

 

Generally speaking, our area isn't segregated by finances.  There may be a few roads of trailers and a few cul de sacs of McMansions, but most of us are living side by side. (Literally.  My tiny house has a McMansion to one side, another directly across the street, and a beautiful, elaborate, custom home to the other side.)  You absolutely cannot tell what's going on inside around here.

 

I did a little research yesterday.  There are no food banks, soup kitchens, or anything like that in my specific township.  We don't even have a grocery store.  The vast majority of everyone's needs are met in other townships throughout the county.  We're not a densely populated area.

 

Still, our population of less than 7,000 is estimated to have a poverty rate of over 12%.  We're talking +/- 800 people.  And 0 local resources.  :huh:

 

I know surrounding areas have much larger numbers to address, since our school district (multiple townships) is nearly 50% free and reduced lunch.  And if our residents have to go to other townships...  My brain's afraid to figure out how many people a couple of small food banks are trying to serve.

[athomeontheprairie]

Op here: dd11 volunteers at our bank. And once a year organizes a communitywide food drive. One of the great advantages of having her, she volunteers with a bunch of 70 and 80-year-old ladies. she does a lot of the manual lifting, moving the heavy boxes, etc. They really appreciate having a young body! our food bank is only open during the day , most of the volunteers are retired people.

 

They do ask a couple questions, mainly how many people are in your household. Our food bank limit you to two visits during a 12 month period. The amount of food you receive is dependent on the number of people in your home. for my size of family we would get an overflowing shopping cart worth of food. Approximately $450 worth of food.

there are people that donate meat or produce or eggs . People can take those in addition to what they are normally given. the local grocer also gives a $40 voucher.

they also have a shelf where they put recently expired food, or weird random crap. anyone can take those items, there's no limit.

if the family needs assistance for a third time during the calendar year , they can get help but there's hoops that have to be jumped through. namely they have to meet with one of the 12 pastors of a local church and a financial assistant (three donate time to help), and together they try and help them find ways to better their situation.

 

Recently my daughter was... verbally attacked... for serving at a food bank. for all the reasons listed as "no" on the poll. I was really hoping that was not a common opinion. I'm glad to see that it is not.

 

I work in a public position, and often help underemployed and transient people. I needed to send several families to the food bank and I helped them make the contacts necessary to do so. I know families abuse it, but I don't see it. it makes me sad to think that there are people who would prefer them to starve then to offer help me because "they should just get a job". Sorry, it isn't that easy. (Like three years ago, when the single largest employer in our region laid off half of its staff due to a drought. I'm sorry but there aren't enough extra jobs in the area to support those families . So until they found work elsewhere and were able to move...)

Sigh. Some people.

Edited January 20, 2017 by athomeontheprairie

[Carol in Cal.]

Carol, since we are in the same state, I am surprised you have no trouble getting the local food pantry to accept things "from your cupboard." I was once told that only originally wrapped items were accepted. I have fruit falling and rotting because we cannot possibly eat it all and would not mind giving it away but it's not originally wrapped.

For herbs and spices, the 'shop your cupboard' stuff was unopened.  People brought in jars that they had been gifted but had concluded they would not use, often fairly exotic spices or spice mixtures that are uncommonly used here in this country.  

 

But I'm surprised about your fruit not being accepted.  I've brought tomatoes from my garden to our local outlet, and they were glad to get them.  (Maybe because they knew me and when I said I had just picked them that morning they knew it was true--so maybe they made an exception.  I'm not sure.)  Much of the produce that we get from the food bank and their Salvation Army outlet is boxed in open crates, with no plastic wrap or lids, so it doesn't seem 'originally wrapped' but maybe that meets the definition.  Locally there is also a charity that picks fruit from homeowners' yard trees and brings it to the food bank.  

 

Also, for several years our local newspaper had a program called "Plant a Row for the Hungry".  They encouraged those who were putting in vegetable gardens to grow extra to donate to the local food bank.  They would send those who registered a few packets of seeds, and asked for stats and/or pictures back at the end of the season.  It was very popular.

 

It IS true, though, that we (at the local little food pantry outlets) must sign a document saying that we will not repackage Food Bank food or any other food that arrives in packaging, as a condition of getting anything from the CFB at all.  So, for instance, we would like to be able to get huge sacks of beans, rice, flour, etc. from Costco and decant it into smaller bags, but are not allowed to do that.  It's really too bad.  We have a Costco warehouse less than 30 miles away, and they give away tons of that kind of stuff.  The way their system works is that they get pallets of things--toys, watermelons, sacks of sugar, etc.  If ONE ITEM in a pallet is damaged, they have to get rid of the whole pallet because none of the stores will want it.  So they give that stuff to charities, but it's an unpredictable supply.  Our clients mostly can't store a 10, 25, or 50 lb bag of anything, so we don't go and get those.  I keep thinking we will figure out how to use that stuff.  There are SRO homes locally where tenants could share something like that, but storage space is still an issue.  And driving our ancient truck for 30 miles on speculation that they *might* have stuff we could use is not the best use of our time and resources, since the CFB is just 5 minutes away.

Edited January 20, 2017 by Carol in Cal.

[Pam in CT]

There are very poor people living almost everywhere. I can list off more than a dozen very posh areas in my county that have large but often all but invisible pockets of poverty. There are also people living in very nice areas who may experience a sudden change of circumstances.

 

 

I live in an affluent suburb.  I know two women whose husbands abruptly announced intention to divorce and simultaneously cleared out their joint accounts.  Who used our local food pantry to feed their kids during the financial & divorce proceedings.  It takes a while to re-design life from SAHM to householder.

[Lady Florida.]

I think a simple limit of X-number of bags or items a week per family is enough. 

 

Yes, also some basic questions do make sense. When I voted no questions asked I meant you shouldn't have to prove you're needy/hungry.

 

There's a church food bank here that asks how many people are in your household and asks their ages. That's for distribution purposes. The single person, the elderly couple, the family with infants, school age children, teenagers, will all get different types of items in their box. Those kinds of questions make obvious sense.

 

There's another food bank/thrift shop charity that asks degrading questions. Questions about working and drugs and alcohol and sexual partners and more. I took someone there once and though I was in the other room while she had her "interview" I could hear some of the questions being asked. She left there in tears and asked me to take her somewhere else. Even though she answered all of the questions to their satisfaction she didn't want their help. Some might say she should have swallowed her pride and taken what she could get. I supported her, and I no longer support that charity.  I won't even donate my stuff to their thrift shop now that I know how they treat people in need.

Edited January 20, 2017 by Lady Florida.

[Bluegoat]

Wish I could remember where it was so I could share a link, but recently I saw a feature about what reminded me of the old fashioned bookmobile. Except it was a grocerymobile, with fresh produce and lots of quality food. Very reasonable pricing. It's mission was to serve the food desert areas by making wholesome food more available. I love that idea.

 

We have one of these here.  It actually visits mostly outlying areas, which is different than a lot of people expect - the more urban inner city areas are actually pretty well served.  But poor suburbs and almost rural areas are not.

[Mergath]

95 million Americans of prime working age are not in the labor force. Some are students, SAHP's or other caretakers, early retirees, or disabled. But there are a LOT who are capable of working but are neither doing so nor actively seeking employment, doing job training, etc. Those are the people whom taxpayers should not be giving a handout to IMHO unless they start doing something productive with their lives.

 

Are you really saying that all of us who stay home while homeschooling our kids aren't "doing something productive with our lives"? You do realize this is a homeschooling board, right? I mean, you've been here a while and you should know that, but statements like this make me wonder. :huh:

 

[SarahW]

Op here: dd11 volunteers at our bank. And once a year organizes a communitywide food drive. One of the great advantages of having her, she volunteers with a bunch of 70 and 80-year-old ladies. she does a lot of the manual lifting, moving the heavy boxes, etc. They really appreciate having a young body! our food bank is only open during the day , most of the volunteers are retired people.

 

They do ask a couple questions, mainly how many people are in your household. Our food bank limit you to two visits during a 12 month period. The amount of food you receive is dependent on the number of people in your home. for my size of family we would get an overflowing shopping cart worth of food. Approximately $450 worth of food.

there are people that donate meat or produce or eggs . People can take those in addition to what they are normally given. the local grocer also gives a $40 voucher.

they also have a shelf where they put recently expired food, or weird random crap. anyone can take those items, there's no limit.

if the family needs assistance for a third time during the calendar year , they can get help but there's hoops that have to be jumped through. namely they have to meet with one of the 12 pastors of a local church and a financial assistant (three donate time to help), and together they try and help them find ways to better their situation.

 

Recently my daughter was... verbally attacked... for serving at a food bank. for all the reasons listed as "no" on the poll. I was really hoping that was not a common opinion. I'm glad to see that it is not.

 

I work in a public position, and often help underemployed and transient people. I needed to send several families to the food bank and I helped them make the contacts necessary to do so. I know families abuse it, but I don't see it. it makes me sad to think that there are people who would prefer them to starve then to offer help me because "they should just get a job". Sorry, it isn't that easy. (Like three years ago, when the single largest employer in our region laid off half of its staff due to a drought. I'm sorry but there aren't enough extra jobs in the area to support those families . So until they found work elsewhere and were able to move...)

Sigh. Some people.

 

I have also met people who were incredibly negative about food banks. Strangely, these were the same people who would rant and rave about "commies" and how the government shouldn't be involved in social programs because charity was "the church's" job. Yeah, that church gave up serving in the community soup kitchen because many of the church members sneered at "the professional poor" they saw there.

 

I started a basket by the door for donations to the local multi-church food bank at another church. They weren't overly hostile, just mostly ambivalent.likewise had the attitude that poor people should "just get a job." That was a pretty wealthy area, but there were parts full of people who were working more than full time at $8/hr cleaning some millionaires toilets. When I moved away I'm pretty sure no one else picked up the reigns on the food basket.

 

 

Your food bank only allows people to come twice a year??? I don't understand that at all. Or did you mean twice a month?

[Mergath]

As a volunteer etc, I have quit having anything to do with the model of food banks where clients aren't trusted to accept or decline items or even touch the cans themselves.

 

That's how it is here. A couple years back I went to pick up food for a homeschooling family who was unable to do so because the mom was in the hospital and the dad had a disability that made things like that very difficult, and you have to walk through the shelves with a handler and you aren't allowed to touch anything. I remember at one point dd saw something she thought the family would like and grabbed it without thinking and the handler freaked the heck out, snatched it out of her hands, and almost hyperventilated while she lectured us. It was so dehumanizing, and I wasn't even getting the food for my own family. We did have to go once maybe seven years ago when dh was unemployed, but I don't remember it being that bad. I understand that they never have enough food to go around, but I would have to be some kind of magician to palm a bunch of canned goods and hide them on my person long enough to get them out to the car. We do donate stuff to the food shelf, but I've never been able to bring myself to volunteer, knowing I'd be required to chew out families with over-curious children on a regular basis.

 

I wish people would donate enough so that the volunteers don't feel like they have to be so, er, let's go with vigilant, but the United Way does huge monthly food drops here and I think people assume that so many families get food that way, they don't need to donate to the food shelf. Which is totally untrue, because life happens.

[Mergath]

Your food bank only allows people to come twice a year??? I don't understand that at all. Or did you mean twice a month?

 

The one here only allows you to come six times a year. It's all dependent on how much food they have to distribute. Less food = stricter regulations.

[Mergath]

They have farmer's markets here that accept SNAP.  In fact, they actually double the SNAP dollars up to a point.  So if someone says they want to use $10 in SNAP dollars, they actually get to buy $20 worth of food.  WIC here also gives, in addition to monthly produce checks for the grocery store, coupons to use at local farmer's markets.  I think those are pretty good deals because they help the people who need food AND the local farmers.

 

They do that here, too. People on SNAP can convert their benefits to wooden tokens that can be used at any of the market stalls, and they also get them doubled up to a certain amount. They're the same tokens that you get if you want to pay with a credit or debit card, so it's nice because the families don't have to feel so obvious about paying with food stamps.

 

[LucyStoner]

They do that here, too. People on SNAP can convert their benefits to wooden tokens that can be used at any of the market stalls, and they also get them doubled up to a certain amount. They're the same tokens that you get if you want to pay with a credit or debit card, so it's nice because the families don't have to feel so obvious about paying with food stamps.

 

Here, we also have farmer's market tokens that you don't need to buy with SNAP a

That are distributed to families on WIC, in transitional housing etc. I think that is a great program.

[athomeontheprairie]

I have also met people who were incredibly negative about food banks. Strangely, these were the same people who would rant and rave about "commies" and how the government shouldn't be involved in social programs because charity was "the church's" job. Yeah, that church gave up serving in the community soup kitchen because many of the church members sneered at "the professional poor" they saw there.

 

I started a basket by the door for donations to the local multi-church food bank at another church. They weren't overly hostile, just mostly ambivalent.likewise had the attitude that poor people should "just get a job." That was a pretty wealthy area, but there were parts full of people who were working more than full time at $8/hr cleaning some millionaires toilets. When I moved away I'm pretty sure no one else picked up the reigns on the food basket.

 

 

Your food bank only allows people to come twice a year??? I don't understand that at all. Or did you mean twice a month?

Yes! Commies entered the conversation!

 

No, i meant twice a year. Though, I don't know about other places but with what they would give my family I could almost feed us for a month (with the exception of the little meat and fresh produce). Its staple items. It comes out to about $450+ a $40 voucher. We struggle putting food on the table and that's about what I spend on a good month. (We do however slaughter all our own meat. That makes it significantly cheaper than the same from the store. Its a HUGE savings)

[Mergath]

Here, we also have farmer's market tokens that you don't need to buy with SNAP a

That are distributed to families on WIC, in transitional housing etc. I think that is a great program.

 

They have something similar here too with WIC, but I think you could only get something like ten dollars per family per month to use at the farmer's market. Though that was four years ago, so hopefully they've raised the amount since then. I wish they would just let WIC families choose to convert all their cereal and cheese and crap to FM tokens. But they can't because subsidies. :glare:

[athomeontheprairie]

Are you really saying that all of us who stay home while homeschooling our kids aren't "doing something productive with our lives"? You do realize this is a homeschooling board, right? I mean, you've been here a while and you should know that, but statements like this make me wonder. :huh:

 

I took her comment to mean: if you are struggling to have food, but are ABLE to work and aren't because of choice, maybe try working instead of asking for a handout.

I did not take it as sahp aren't contributing.

[LucyStoner]

That's how it is here. A couple years back I went to pick up food for a homeschooling family who was unable to do so because the mom was in the hospital and the dad had a disability that made things like that very difficult, and you have to walk through the shelves with a handler and you aren't allowed to touch anything. I remember at one point dd saw something she thought the family would like and grabbed it without thinking and the handler freaked the heck out, snatched it out of her hands, and almost hyperventilated while she lectured us. It was so dehumanizing, and I wasn't even getting the food for my own family. We did have to go once maybe seven years ago when dh was unemployed, but I don't remember it being that bad. I understand that they never have enough food to go around, but I would have to be some kind of magician to palm a bunch of canned goods and hide them on my person long enough to get them out to the car. We do donate stuff to the food shelf, but I've never been able to bring myself to volunteer, knowing I'd be required to chew out families with over-curious children on a regular basis.

 

I wish people would donate enough so that the volunteers don't feel like they have to be so, er, let's go with vigilant, but the United Way does huge monthly food drops here and I think people assume that so many families get food that way, they don't need to donate to the food shelf. Which is totally untrue, because life happens.

While I get that scarcity is part of the regulations and rules at food banks, I also have observed the dehumanizing actions of the volunteers in food banks that are not typically short of resources. I think the charity mindset and the assumption that poverty is the fault of poor people is most of the more dehumanizing, onerous and intrusive questioning. Some people work and volunteer at food banks because they believe food is a basic need and they want to help people. Still other volunteer primarily because they want to feel good about themselves and morally superior to those who need help. This is why I don't work for organizations with a charity mindset. Organizations that focus on social justice can and do certainly provide charitable services but charity minded organization tend to serve up their "help" with a big dollop of judgy bullsh!t.

[Pam in CT]

I've never heard of clients not being allowed to touch the food.  My God.  That is horrific.

 

At ours, clients get 1-3 Trader Joe paper bags (depending on household size) and walk around filling them up with whatever they want / need.  The Syrian refugee mother of 5 that I take can't use any of the meat because they're halal, and the regular volunteers all know that, so when she comes they often give her a heads up about whatever other good stuff they've recently received and direct her to it if she's interested.  But the clients make the choice.

[Mergath]

I took her comment to mean: if you are struggling to have food, but are ABLE to work and aren't because of choice, maybe try working instead of asking for a handout.

I did not take it as sahp aren't contributing.

 

It read to me that anyone who is capable of working but isn't is unproductive and needs to get a job.

[Guest]

It read to me that anyone who is capable of working but isn't is unproductive and needs to get a job.

More likely that they need to help themselves and get a hand up instead of thinking only of the handouts. What we see here are twenty somethings who have spent their lives refusing to learn a trade or enough numeracy to run a register, then start dealing while taking food from senior citizens who spend their time minding their gardens,running The food pantry, knitting hats and so forth. They won't even shovel the seniors snow in the winter.

[FaithManor]

I wish our safety net was better so that they were not necessary, but given the state of the economy in my area, they are needed. I prefer no questions, and given the social stigma placed on people who use them, don't think that fraudulent use is a widespread problem. Not too worried about that.

 

Middle ds's college has a food bank for students. If your dorm has a fully functioning kitchen, students can opt out of the meal plans. There are so many kids who are barely able to stay in school that this is fairly common, and the faculty felt as they got to know their students that combined with info gleaned from Health Services, there were students who were malnourished, consuming too few calories.

We made some donations at the beginning of the year.

 

Ds has dropped his meal plan. It is actually cheaper to walk in off the street and pay cash for the meal than what the college charged for the meal plan! Talk about a big error in pricing! His dorm has a big kitchen, fully outfitted, and he shares cooking with two girls in his dorm that also do not have meal plans. They splurged for a tiny package of pork cutlets last night, cooked up some rice and green beans, and chowed down. One of the girls is in a pretty difficult financial situation, parents in poverty, no help, trying to work 20 hours per week and keep up with 18 credit hours per semester. She lost a fair amount of weight last semester and was petite to begin with so I told ds to help her some, and to make sure she regularly visited the food bank. The other girl lives on $35.00 a week for food. I worry that it is mostly canned stuff like spaghettioes, and lots and lots of other carbs/empty calories. He told me she shops at the dollar store.

 

Ai, yi, yi, yi, yi

 

Dh says that he is increasing ds's monthly allowance by $15.00 a week so that once per week, he can treat both girls to a really nice meal...maybe a roasting chicken with sides or something similar. The girls do know how to cook. Ds not so much. If they want to cook, he can buy the food!

 

So yes, I see them as a real need.

[Supertechmom]

 A need for sure.  And in my area requires proof of need.  Food banks didn't used to but they were being cleaned out by people who just wanted free food and no care that they could actually buy food vs people who would go hungry.  So full application process and I think a sliding scale type of need used.

 

[Guest]

I did same FaithM. Ds and friends living in apts started hosting dinner parties fri,.sat,.sun, making sure to pick up friends who could not afford more than ramen. They all split the work, And they all are pay it forward types.

[Annie G]

FaithManor, youngest dd's college meal plan was the same way- hundreds of dollars more expensive than buying each meal  individually. It was crazy.   What your ds's school offers is awesome. I'm sure it really helps struggling students! Kudos to them!!

[happypamama]

I love that you are helping college kids by having your kids buy food! FaithManor, that's a very good trade for your son to purchase some extra food if the girls will cook. Maybe they'll even rub off on him a bit and teach him a little. :).

[happi duck]

That's loving.

 

Our value as people is not dependent on whether or not we earn money.

Well said!

[FaithManor]

I love that you are helping college kids by having your kids buy food! FaithManor, that's a very good trade for your son to purchase some extra food if the girls will cook. Maybe they'll even rub off on him a bit and teach him a little. :).

One of the girls called yesterday to thank me for the pork cutlets and green beans (some home canned ones that I sent with ds so they are really yummy), and I had so much fun talking with her. She is a special young lady. I just know my heart would hurt so much if I could not adequately provide for my own college child, and I would hope someone would have the resources to be kind. I figure that if I show love to these young ladies, they are likely to do the same to someone else in the future when they are better set.

 

Hopefully.

[Laurie4b]

I chose "no questions asked" because I don't think all that many people would scam. And  for those who are in need, not asking a bunch of questions preserves dignity as much as possible. 

[BlsdMama]

I would have said, "Yes, with no questions asked," however, after the flooding this year, a person got caught taking baby/family supplies from donation areas set up for the flood, including disposable diapers and he didn't even live in the flood area.  I would not have thought that people who didn't NEED this stuff would have accepted it. :(

I think they are valuable - I like that they are from donations, not tax money taken and then funneled to what the government thinks.....

Take, for example, this article from 2013:

http://www.thegazette.com/2013/01/20/ui-hospitals-sends-180000-in-food-waste-to-landfill

 

They are now listed on Table to Tables current donators and I believe they have made the changes to send prepared food.  
 

 

 

We LOVED helping Salem Harvest gather food for food banks when we lived in Oregon.  Farmers who had waste in their fields would donate the proceeds.  In case  you aren't ag savvy, it isn't often conducive, if you use mechanical pickers, to do more than one harvest.  Take broccoli for instance.  It will produce again and again, but not nice beautiful heads.  So, Salem Harvest swoops in, picks the fresh edible produce, gives the farmer a tax deduction that would have been waste, and gives out the highest need - fresh produce.

 

The pickers - no income requirements whatsoever.  Everyone helps, everyone has fun!  You sign up for a harvest and you keep half of what you pick.  The cost for being in on the pick is that you donate half of your harvest to the food bank.  They have the trucks there ready to load.

 

I cannot tell you how much I'd encourage everyone to participate.  Unfortunately, like in the Midwest, we don't grown readily edible crops.  In Oregon they grew orchards and produce.  Here we grow soybeans and corn.  If you grow in an area, it's SO good for your kids.  They will meet the coolest people and really learn to work to benefit others - so yeah, I'm a fan of foodbanks from the serving end.  CJ just spent time this morning working in a vet's food bank.

And, for your enjoyment and curiousity, gratuitious gleaning pics, lol:

 

http://www.salemharvest.org/Harvest%20Photos/2013-08-10/content/SH2013-08-10-15_large.html

And I can share 'cuz well that little blueberry is mine. ;)

[LucyStoner]

I've never heard of clients not being allowed to touch the food. My God. That is horrific.

 

At ours, clients get 1-3 Trader Joe paper bags (depending on household size) and walk around filling them up with whatever they want / need. The Syrian refugee mother of 5 that I take can't use any of the meat because they're halal, and the regular volunteers all know that, so when she comes they often give her a heads up about whatever other good stuff they've recently received and direct her to it if she's interested. But the clients make the choice.

The most common models for larger food banks (vs. a smaller community or church pantry) was some variation of wait in line for some time with the smell of spoiling food wafting around, walk down the line and have your box filled by volunteers with little if any choice involved OR receive a prefilled box. Fortunately that is changing.

[Meriwether]

I haven't read the responses and probably won't, but I think food banks are needed. I wouldn't limit who can use them. I wish the quality of food were higher.

[Audrey]

Several years ago I started a food bank in my nearby small town. I had a hard time getting it started. I needed a space for it. I approached the local Catholic church who had a well-known empty small building they hadn't used in ages. I was told by the parish committee that they didn't want it used for a food bank because it would attract "those people." It's the last bit of use I'll ever have for that church.

 

A friend and I managed to find a place and start the food bank anyway. It is a 'no questions asked' bank. We only distribute 2x a month, but that's the best we can do. We get great support from the community in terms of food donations and cash donations. The local 4H club does a huge fundraiser and food drive for the bank every year. The school kids also do a fundraiser. We've now paired up with the local thrift store and are able to provide a selection of free children's clothing and all sizes of winter coats and boots.

 

As to quality of food... we do our best. It isn't perfect and some special diets will find it lacking, but we don't pretend to be able to provide a full fortnight's groceries for the whole family. I think we have some wonderful assistance that makes our food bank very special in what we can offer. A local Hutterite farm gives us all the potatoes and carrots every year, so there are potatoes and carrots in every basket. We get butchered chickens once a month from another farmer -- they are layer culls, so older birds, but are processed at an inspected facility, so perfectly safe for human consumption. We use cash donations to purchase eggs, milk and bread at a very discounted rate from the local grocer. Clients get coupons to take to the store for those items. Every other month we get pork from the local abattoir. Twice a year, there is a family of cattle ranchers who make very generous donations of processed meat.

 

Personally, I would love to see a day where food banks weren't needed, but until then, I'll continue to live by my own two commandments: Feed people. Don't be an ass.

[Guest]

Several years ago I started a food bank in my nearby small town. I had a hard time getting it started. I needed a space for it. I approached the local Catholic church who had a well-known empty small building they hadn't used in ages. I was told by the parish committee that they didn't want it used for a food bank because it would attract "those people." It's the last bit of use I'll ever have for that church.

 

A friend and I managed to find a place and start the food bank anyway. It is a 'no questions asked' bank. We only distribute 2x a month, but that's the best we can do. We get great support from the community in terms of food donations and cash donations. The local 4H club does a huge fundraiser and food drive for the bank every year. The school kids also do a fundraiser. We've now paired up with the local thrift store and are able to provide a selection of free children's clothing and all sizes of winter coats and boots.

 

As to quality of food... we do our best. It isn't perfect and some special diets will find it lacking, but we don't pretend to be able to provide a full fortnight's groceries for the whole family. I think we have some wonderful assistance that makes our food bank very special in what we can offer. A local Hutterite farm gives us all the potatoes and carrots every year, so there are potatoes and carrots in every basket. We get butchered chickens once a month from another farmer -- they are layer culls, so older birds, but are processed at an inspected facility, so perfectly safe for human consumption. We use cash donations to purchase eggs, milk and bread at a very discounted rate from the local grocer. Clients get coupons to take to the store for those items. Every other month we get pork from the local abattoir. Twice a year, there is a family of cattle ranchers who make very generous donations of processed meat.

 

Personally, I would love to see a day where food banks weren't needed, but until then, I'll continue to live by my own two commandments: Feed people. Don't be an ass.

 

I agree completely, especially the bolded.

 

And I'm kind of flabbergasted by that comment from the parish committee - as though 'those people' are less valuable in the sight of God than they are?! Or less worthy to sit in a pew or enjoy fellowship, let alone basic human kindness? That sort of 'religion' makes me seethe.

[itsheresomewhere]

Got a interesting one for you- I found out that there is a food bank near me that was needing some winter clothes and such.  I called today to ask if I could bring by some like new coats, boots and such that my kids had outgrown.  I was told that they only accept new clothing with tags. 

 

 

[frugalmamatx]

Got a interesting one for you- I found out that there is a food bank near me that was needing some winter clothes and such.  I called today to ask if I could bring by some like new coats, boots and such that my kids had outgrown.  I was told that they only accept new clothing with tags. 

 

I actually can understand this. So many folks will donate items that are in poor condition and call it like new or gently used. Not saying yours weren't actually like new - just some folks are blind to the condition of items. Then it costs the pantry to sort out & dispose of items that aren't in good enough condition to give out. Or they give out an item and it gives out sooner than expected, leaving the person receiving it in a lurch perhaps. 

 

Bed bugs is also a concern with used clothing {or so I'm told by one place I used to help out at - they had a policy that all used clothing items had to stay OUTSIDE the building to avoid bringing bedbugs in by accident.}

[Guest]

Got a interesting one for you- I found out that there is a food bank near me that was needing some winter clothes and such. I called today to ask if I could bring by some like new coats, boots and such that my kids had outgrown. I was told that they only accept new clothing with tags.

You know I have always wondered about that. I'm not into trash at the thrift store, where people drop off old mismatched socks or stained/ripped clothes; but used clothes in good condition are fine for plenty of families including my own - why would they not be acceptable for the food bank?

 

I figure maybe it's a cleanliness thing, but you'd expect that to be a problem with Salvation Army or Value Village too, but they somehow manage just fine.

 

It's a minor thing but that sort of attitude always bothered me a bit when my own kids are dressed in hand me downs but good quality ones aren't suitable for someone in greater need than us? That's just one of those things we couldn't do, but I suppose other families could manage it. Just donating money or food to the food pantry is still something very important even if some things other types of donations might be out of reach.

Edited January 21, 2017 by Arctic Mama

[itsheresomewhere]

You know I have always wondered about that. I'm not into trash at the thrift store, where people drop off old mismatched socks or stained/ripped clothes; but used clothes in good condition are fine for plenty of families including my own - why would they not be acceptable for the food bank?

 

I figure maybe it's a cleanliness thing, but you'd expect that to be a problem with Salvation Army or Value Village too, but they somehow manage just fine.

 

It's a minor thing but that sort of attitude always bothered me a bit when my own kids are dressed in hand me downs but good quality ones aren't suitable for someone in greater need than us? That's just one of those things we couldn't do, but I suppose other families could manage it. Just donating money or food to the food pantry is still something very important even if some things other types of donations might be out of reach.

I think it was the attitude of the woman who answered the phone that really got to me.  She acted like it was disgusting that I wanted to bring by used clothing.  

 

So I did some more digging on the place.  The same church that hosts them also has a thift shop.  Interesting that the church will take in used clothing but they won't.

[Arcadia]

Got a interesting one for you- I found out that there is a food bank near me that was needing some winter clothes and such. I called today to ask if I could bring by some like new coats, boots and such that my kids had outgrown. I was told that they only accept new clothing with tags.

I was told that the winter clothes were going to foster children and other children in need so new clothing with tags would be good for the children's self esteem versus hand me downs.

[Liz CA]

 

 

But I'm surprised about your fruit not being accepted.  I've brought tomatoes from my garden to our local outlet, and they were glad to get them.  (Maybe because they knew me and when I said I had just picked them that morning they knew it was true--so maybe they made an exception.  I'm not sure.)  Much of the produce that we get from the food bank and their Salvation Army outlet is boxed in open crates, with no plastic wrap or lids, so it doesn't seem 'originally wrapped' but maybe that meets the definition.  Locally there is also a charity that picks fruit from homeowners' yard trees and brings it to the food bank.  

 

Also, for several years our local newspaper had a program called "Plant a Row for the Hungry".  They encouraged those who were putting in vegetable gardens to grow extra to donate to the local food bank.  They would send those who registered a few packets of seeds, and asked for stats and/or pictures back at the end of the season.  It was very popular.

 

 

 

I love the "plant an extra row" idea. I do not need to plant anything extra though. I've been blessed with Grapefruit, Avocados, Almonds and Oranges, especially oranges.

Maybe I need to call several places, like the women's shelter etc., and see if I either misunderstood or someone else misunderstood the regs when communicating them to me.

 

[LucyStoner]

I was told that the winter clothes were going to foster children and other children in need so new clothing with tags would be good for the children's self esteem versus hand me downs.

Besides this, there's a large cost to charities that don't sell fabric by the the pound in processing and sorting through useful and unuseful donations. Some people donate gently used items with lots of life left. Others, on hearing a request for coats for teenagers bring in their old lady full length coats from 1978. I ran a family services organization. People would leave crap on the steps when I wasn't there to say thanks but no thanks and then they would subsequently call, describe the items and without an ounce of shame ask for a tax receipt. So, you know, they could itemize as a deduction the garbage that I had to pay money to dispose of. Once during a children's clothing drive I received unwashed lingerie. That is just one example of the junk people would actually "donate."

 

This is why agencies sometimes just make blanket policies like "new items only".

[wathe]

This is another reason I support charities running their charity however they want (obviously as long as they are running it like a charity of course, helping those who need help, you get the idea.)  To me, it's obvious that this charity has had a problem with donations coming in that not in good condition.  So they set a rule that all donations have to be brand new.  That's how they chose to solve the problem of crappy donations.  On the other side of the coin, if a charity finds that in their particular area, people clearing out their formula and selling it on CL is a problem, they should be able to choose to limit how many cans people can take if that's how they choose to address the problem.  If a church runs into a problem where they know particular church members are not in need, but taking food from the pantry just to be cheap, they should be able to choose to address that problem by requiring some sort of verification...if that's what they choose. 

 

This country is huge.  It's the second most populous in the world.  And the problems in this country vary all across the country.  What's a problem in one area might not be a problem in another.  So I think charities should be able to run themselves as they see it necessary to fit the needs and situations in their community.  I don't think it's fair to say that all charities should run the same, when a charity in Portland might have no problems at all, but a charity in Phoenix might have issues where they are running out of food by 9am because someone is coming in and cleaning them out every week.  Or whatever. 

 

Not unless you are posting from India.  :)

[Tanaqui]

It's the THIRD most populous on the world, fourth if we're counting the EU as one nation instead of many separate ones. (Though I'm not sure if Brexit will change that.)  We also have the highest GDP in the world, though we're neck and neck with the EU for that one.