Food banks are just a more expensive way to get food that isn’t necessarily suitable to poor people: Prove me wrong

TFIF, am I right? And that the pollies have headed home for the summer break after a chaotic final week, and maybe we’ll get some respite from their pontificating until that election is called/ Rumours around say it’ll be in March, others say it’ll drag on til the usual May.

Food banks don't solve poverty and hunger, they are just a more expensive way to get food that isn't necessarily suitable to to poor people.
Raising welfare will help from the bottom up, tax cuts do nothing for the poorest in their country.#RaiseTheRate#88aDay https://t.co/DkVqYiQEMV

— 💜 phonakins 🇵🇸🍉🔻 (@phonakins) November 26, 2024

To follow up on my last post “Just because it’s better than nothing, doesn’t make it “good”, we head back to the food banks as the summer heat and humidity really kick in, and summer shutdowns approach. The charities themselves are also in rush mode, soliciting donations how they can while getting out the Xmas hampers to those needing the support.

But let’s break down that process a little.

Which is what gets me, they ask for direct donations, get corporate volunteers, have other volunteers, food is MOSTLY donated, and yet they have the audacity to onsell it to the local food pantries and then some of THEM mark it up to fund their services https://t.co/z0wfApBmYN

— 💜 phonakins 🇵🇸🍉🔻 (@phonakins) November 18, 2024

Foodbank™ charges the local charities and food pantries for the hampers and food items they get from them. It’s usually $25 for a prepacked hamper, whether Xmas or through the year, and (often extremely short dated) groceries are sold and the locals then generally on sell them a little above their cost, but sometimes for more. This can be to the point where it’s cheaper to buy items from regular supermarkets, at least on special.

They rely on the labour of volunteers – at the warehouses it’s often corporate volunteers, there paid by their regular employer, often a big (?tax avoiding) business. As do the local charities, but they’re well meaning locals, church members or someone who used the service and isn’t doing as bad as others at the moment. This labour is “free” to the charities, and most people want to be there (though we do hear of work for the dole at foodbanks) but it’s still labour.

Emergency hampers are funded by what ever the local charities can get together. SRU asks directly for $25 from supporters to buy a hamper from Foodbank. Vinnies asks for $72 so they can purchase their own for their clients. Foodbank also asks for $35 donations for hampers, again is this on top of the $25 they charge the local charities, any donations made by corporations, through telethons and ones at the checkout. They and other food relief charities like Ozharvest regularly are mentioned by politicians as receiving a block of funding to rent a new warehouse, while not mentioning WHY people can’t afford to just purchase their own food.

The food is standard fare – pasta and vegemite, weetbix and UHT milk and the like. The Christmas ones are similar but with tinned ham and pudding and custard. Not exactly allergy friendly for my many gluten or dairy intolerant folks. All these items are purchased outright it seems for the hampers, they’re well in date and consistent in brands, though it’s possible some of the companies make specific bulk donations. Unlike the stuff that comes from the Supermarkets – the close to date foods or experimental foods that haven’t sold and Colesworth can write them off as donations rather than copping the loss because they purchased incorrectly. Don’t worry, it’s not coming out of their profits.

Then we get to the fresh produce. I picked up some bread from my local food pantry Wednesday, and threw it out Thursday because it was moldy. This heat and humidity is terrible, but the bread was best before the 24th, so for it to turn by the 28th is not all surprising. It’s a pain, and fortunately I could afford replace it with a fresh loaf when I was out last night, but for others that means no bread til Monday or Wednesday when the foodbank is open again. Freezing it as soon as I got it home Wednesday would just have meant I’d be having bread that was not yet showing mold. Yum Yum.

And this is why I scream just give people enough money to feed themselves the food they want when they want it. Raise welfare above the poverty line so people can afford fresh bread that lasts more than a day before turning. So they can buy allergy-friendly foods. So they can choose the fruit and veges and snacks they are their kids actually like to eat. Channel all that extra government funding for warehouses and transporting old food around the country into welfare payments and programs that actually support people. Give them free childcare rather than free weetbix. Tax the supermarkets and the resources companies more so they can directly fund these thigns rather than them pretending to be the good guys by writing off excess food and donating cash and staff labour and getting to put their little logos on things.

Major reform is needed, but you can start by giving people enough money to live.

Raging in. Booted out. Long may she reign! pic.twitter.com/VWUrBtZuqo

— Ben Pennings (@BenPennings) November 28, 2024

Middle fingers up til the reaper shows up

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Added later cos OMG:

Gonna say it again: if your food relief charity relies on Work for the Dole labour to stay open, it's time to immediately rethink your entire operation pic.twitter.com/yINqIvJfyb

— jeremy poxon (@JeremyPoxon) November 29, 2024