Giving to food banks

[THE WIZARD]

Originally Posted by BevS97

So you then have to think what has happened to them to end up -at a food bank. No one chooses to go to a food bank. Maybe they have lost their jobs. Think Thomas cook. Lots of families lost both jobs that day. are they supposed to throw away their clothes and buy shabby ones that befits their newly unemployed status?

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No I have no idea how or why they ended up in the Food Bank que but I was not actually talking about their clothes it was the iPhone specifically (I could not afford one by the way) that caught the eye as they both stood there talking on them & one would assume also had a contract on - If I were put off giving by that fact how many other people would be! Doesn't encourage one to give when seeing something like that does it.

[EssexSue]

Originally Posted by THE WIZARD

No I have no idea how or why they ended up in the Food Bank que but I was not actually talking about their clothes it was the iPhone specifically (I could not afford one by the way) that caught the eye as they both stood there talking on them & one would assume also had a contract on - If I were put off giving by that fact how many other people would be! Doesn't encourage one to give when seeing something like that does it.

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Are you sure they were iPhones? My cheapy Chinese phone could easily be mistaken for an iPhone. And I have a really cheap sim contract.

[Posiesmum]

Originally Posted by THE WIZARD

No I have no idea how or why they ended up in the Food Bank que but I was not actually talking about their clothes it was the iPhone specifically (I could not afford one by the way) that caught the eye as they both stood there talking on them & one would assume also had a contract on - If I were put off giving by that fact how many other people would be! Doesn't encourage one to give when seeing something like that does it.

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So you’d expect them to look ‘poor’ for you to be willing to donate? Bev’s point still holds true, perhaps they had the phone before losing a job or having some other misfortune. You ‘assume’ they had a contract?
I prefer not to judge people from what I see, I can’t tell what is going on in their lives.

[Nannad]

Well following on from an earlier post, the choir I am in , instead of Christmas cards, have been asked to donate items for the food bank, or instead a £1, with which I will buy items, thank you again mickey house, for bringing it to our attention, has made me think more about less fortunate people this year, I think the term ‘by the grace of god, there go I, comes to mind, and I wonder how I would like to be treated, if I were in their shoes.

[BevS97]

If you have a phone on a contract and you lose your job you still have a phone and a contract. All your commitments don’t disappear overnight.

[mickey house]

I don't even know where my nearest food distribution bank is because I've never been to it (I've only donated via the supermarket food bank trolley). I would be surprised if someone financially stable would even want to go to a food bank, and in the unlikely event that they did then as mentioned on here you can't just walk in off the street and ask for food.

I'm not well off, but we have older model iPhones in the house we don't use that aren't worth much (5C, 5S and 6S models), so if we fell on hard times we would probably sell our newer models (XRs) and use the older ones. So I wouldn't judge someone using an iphone as being well off.

[DisneyDaffodil]

Phone contracts are impossible to get out of, and one of the main debts I see clients with in CAB. People take out two year contracts that they can afford at the time, but lose their job a few months into the contract and have no choice but to see it through to the end.

I also have an iPhone but it’s an older model which I have had for over a year, still has the fancy Apple symbol on it though so looks new from a distance.

I don’t actually judge people who need the food bank by their phone, I can usually tell by the tears, stress and desperation when they tell me their problems that they need help.

[Nannad]

I visited a women’s aid shelter a while ago with my choir, the Families that were there were so different, you could tell that some had had a very affluent lifestyle, with the children and the mum in designer gear, where as others from a poorer background, but that place was a leveller, and everyone was there for the same reason, escaping an abusive partner. Looks can be very deceiving, and I have learned never to judge, you never know what is going on in people’s lives.

[JohnD]

Originally Posted by greekgranny

It's unbelievable

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I fear today it's all too believable

[smithlane]

This has been a very informative thread for me. I have only donated through the supermarket trolleys before but I now have the details of my local food bank who I’ll visit next week.
Another charity that I have found out about recently is Mission Christmas. 1 in 3 children won’t open a present this Christmas which is just heartbreaking. They are asking for a new, unwrapped toy to donate. Doesn’t have to cost a lot, I got a few of the 2 for £15 toys from Argos there’s loads of choice. You can drop them off at either Benson for Beds, Harvey’s or Wickes I believe. I’ve told my kids they’re getting one less present this year as I’m donating it instead!