Sunday 18 August 2013

Foodbank Rules - Are they fair?

I make no apologies, and that is where I and the Trussell Trust tend to part company somewhat, when  I say I have great difficulty as a humanitarian in dealing with their policy on Foodbank visits/parcels recieved.

The Trussell Trust  (TT) are a Christian based organisation. I too am a Christian -a Catholic by birth. The TT have a policy that when people are referred to a Foodbank by a voucher system, they supply 3 days worth of emergency food rations designed around the need - ie a family of 2 adults and 3 children will have different needs to a single person. But then they also state clients can have no more than 3 visits in any 6-12 month period (it varies on location I find). That is what I find uncomfortable.

There are always people who try and abuse systems, but these are in a tiny minority, just like the 0.5% DLA fraud, although IDS would have you believe it runs into millions of people abusing the system! But I find the "language of fear" is increasingly used as the TT try to push,in the media,the "stringent" checks made on vouchers so no one is able to abuse the system, to reassure the Mail readers their benevolent donations are not open to abuse.

This fear of abuse then lends itself to what I see frankly as a blaming policy of "3 visits and you're out" on food parcels. It is widely known that Job Centre sanctions for minor infringements like being 5 minutes late to sign on are being used to sanction people for weeks on end! I am sorry, but it is NOT humanitarian to allow 3x3 visits/parcels when the sanctions can go on for 2/3 months! It is NOT Christian to then turn your back on people in dire circumstances. The TT insist they do not want to encourage a dependency culture, but the Government by sanctioning benefits leave people with very little choice, but to be dependent on a Foodbank and local community help.

When I donate to my Foodbank, I am not then issuing policy on who and who not should benefit from it and for how long. There are working people who may need a parcel to get by every week for the next 3 years, whose income will not grow due to stagnant wages and zero hours contracts. They will need the Foodbanks continuous help not a measly 3 times!

How sapping of a poor persons energies and how fearful are they when they realise they have already recieved 3 parcels in 6 months and so are unable  to apply again? Sorry but I want them to be helped again and again until they are able to feed their families when benefit is reinstated or when their wages increase. I cannot turn my back after 3 visits. The Government via Cameron and IDS rejoice in this "Big Society" approach of communities feeding people. I know the coalition now rely on us and have turned their backs on the poor. But if we have to step into the huge void, we cannot then act like them by limiting need!

How is need measured? Where do people turn to after the 3 visits have been reached?  Crime and shoplifting in desperation? I make no apologies: I would rather they turn to their community foodbank and ask for further help. I don't want families and children to starve because I wasn't there the 4th time they needed me.

9 comments:

  1. The limit on the number of visits has always been of concern to me,as has the money the TT charges to give help in setting up a food parcels.
    Our current gov.has no empathy at all for the many problems they are causing. How IDS can think he is a Christian is incredible! "Suffer the little chidren..."does not mean make them suffer - it means"allow them to come to me"

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  2. I agree. The TT charge £1500 to set up a Foodbank. That could be spent on food!

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  3. I help run a Tt foodbank. The rule is 3 per crisis not 3 per year which I acknowledge still causes issues around benefits sanctions etc though there is discretion. All foodbanks and TT nationally should be arguing the case very loudly for rule changes in benefits using the info we have.

    The £1500 was the best money we spent. The stuff tt provide would have cost us more like £5k.

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  4. Hi Jonathan
    Thanks for your input. I do beg to differ over the 3 parcels and 3 visits. I have information that varies widely from Foodbank to Foodbank but my sources have told me the rule is 3 parcels/visits per 6 months in general.

    The £1500. How does a tiny church organisation raise that money to start off? I have trouble with that in smaller communities.

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  5. Hi Bernadette
    Re the 3xI can only go on what we do and the training we received from the tt rep. It may be that this has evolved over time.
    There's currently s grant fund called Cinammon for church franchise start ups for 2k. Also I'd strongly advise agsinst a single church starting one on their own and so not so much for a group of churches. In rural areas this can be across s large number of villages. Also the money is a useful hurdle to get churches thinking if it's what they want to do.

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  6. Many thanks for your input into the debate Jonathan. I am glad there are grants for new start up Foodbanks. I still think there are many layers we have not yet uncovered. For example our local J Centre recently refused to send clients to our a independent Foodbank as it was not TT. Why? In the end they relented as the next nearest is 20 miles away. Why are TT the only organisation setting up Foodbanks on a national scale? Are they being encouraged by Government with grants themselves? I know TT are independent of Govt but there seems to be a link somewhere.
    Who are the hierarchy in the TT who decide policy etc. many questions unanswered that I would like to find out more.
    Our Foodbank is run by 1 church and its congregation and rely on volunteers to deliver parcels to clients but by a voucher referral service. Now managed to get Sainsbury's on board so progress being made slowly. There is a tsunami of need however as we are on N Wales coast.

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  7. The worst I've seen is this: http://www.leftfootforward.org/2013/06/hounslow-foodbank-rejects-undeserving-poor/ They appear to have changed their policy now but it struck me as a good example of the obscene parody of the “protestant work ethic” that seems to have displaced the genuine principle in Britain in action.

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  8. Thank you for your link and info. I will read up. I agree with you entirely!

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  9. Jonathan - Thanks for stating the correct Trussell Trust policy on how much help people can receive and for explaining the value of being part of The Trussell Trust network, that's really helpful.

    Bernadette - to clarify, Trussell Trust foodbanks provide emergency food to people in crisis and signpost people to further help to enable them to break out of poverty. We partner with frontline care professionals who operate as our eyes and ears in the community to assess the need and make sure that people in crisis receive help quickly. We believe it is much better for people to be helped to get out of poverty, rather than become dependent on a foodbank, which is why our system will flag when someone has had their third consecutive food voucher. We will then contact the referral agent and work with them to find a way to help that person out of poverty and it is then at the discretion of the referral agent and foodbank manager to decide whether further foodbank support is needed.

    The Trussell Trust has not asked the DWP to exclusively work with Trussell Trust foodbanks. We are not, however, responsible for independent foodbanks so they must negotiate their own local agreements.

    As Jonathan stated above, the £1500 donation from churches setting up foodbanks is worth over £5000 in value and we make no profit.

    We are an a-political charity that is not linked to government and receives no government funding. To state that we are linked to government is both untrue and misleading.

    Why not talk to us to find out more about the realities of how we operate before you write again? We would be very happy to speak with you about our operating procedures and any other questions you may have.

    Thank you for your interest in helping people in crisis - a passion that we both share.

    molly.hodson@trusselltrust.org

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