Hear Say: With your help, town could have food bank
IT WAS a worrying statistic that three food banks are being set up every week to cope with demand from families finding themselves on the breadline.
The increase in demand for the food banks is not from the homeless, who are, in turn, putting increasing pressure on agencies locally like Harbour Place and Cath and Ken Homewood’s excellent Grimsby Food Kitchen.
The demand is coming from families who are finding that they are struggling so much to pay the bills, that food is being seen as more of a luxury item than a necessity.
I’m not talking about families who prefer to pay for Sky and cigs than fruit and vegetables.
2 4 1 on all items on the steak and grill menu served monday to saturday
Terms:
Monday - Saturday 12noon - 8pm
cheapest item credited for free
Management reserve the right to withdraw the offer at anytime.
not to be used in conjunction with anyother offer.
Contact: 01472 808799
Valid until: Saturday, June 15 2013
I’m talking about hard-working families who, through no fault of their own, have been made redundant, or whose agency work has dried up, or who have found their wages frozen for several years as bills rise and rise.
Hearsay with Michelle Hurst looks at a frightening situation in 2013 Britain – read the rest of the article in Hearsay, her column in today’s Grimsby Telegraph
Comments
by Steve0
Wednesday, January 30 2013, 6:07PM
“Very worrying indeed, but I think the town having a food bank is even more concerning. With housing and council tax benefits, along with tax credits for working families, unemployment benefits and so on it is not a life of luxury but equally it does not have to be a life of poverty. Food banks are there for those most in need, yet thinking of how cheap housing is in this area plus how we have some well priced supermarkets, the only need food banks may relate to is for people who cannot manage on the money they get.
If this is a case, it is far more worthy to deal with the root cause and address financial problems. In itself, housing benefits along with council tax and unemployment benefits comes to just under £9,000 per year for a single person. This should comfortably cover every necessity. The problems happen when people have debts or overstretch themselves. Let's deal with that problem instead of considering a food bank. Also let's not criminalise those with little money but instead work to get the same people out of debt problems.
In my opinion the real criminals are the payday lenders who should all be outlawed.”