Food banks are broken, just like the rest of system they are in

So, I’ve been sharing this article “Shopping at Australian food charities can be more expensive than supermarkets. What’s gone wrong?” because I’m the foodbank user quoted and because the whole system is broken when charities on the ground are struggling to afford to buy food from mega charities to continue their essential work on the ground.

Regulars here know the story – I shop around foodbanks and Aldi and occasionally the majors since I have all three in my major town centre, in order to get the best value for myself and my little family that looks different each time I take stock. I haven’t gotten back to doing that this year – the food charities are reopening this week after Xmas shutdown, and I don’t have access to a car all the time since one is off the road at the moment. So I’m shopping at Aldi (or my partner is) and we’re getting our meal boxes and I’m sure it’s better for my waistline to not be able to get more food for less, but ugh I’m bored lol. Also, my stepson’s summer job just ended so he’s eating more at home and earning less until the Centrelink systems are reliable enough to reapply for jobseeker or he can find another casual job around the place.

I knew that charities on the ground were facing increased costs for their purchases from Foodbank, but I didn’t realise it had gone up so much.

But I don’t see the answer as giving more money to Foodbank itself. They have corporate and individual donors, they have government funding, volunteer labour and other in-kind support, and yet they still have to charge more to the charities on the ground to receive the food and other items.

I also find myself even more cranky at the local charities that on-sell the items with significant markups (to just under full major supermarket prices) to fund their other work. Whether that’s to fund their free food hampers to those even more in need than the regular foodbank shopper, to pay their rent of warehouses, or to go into their missionary coffers (yes it happens), if there’s such a shortage of food coming into Foodbank warehouses as donations or being purchased it shouldn’t be marked up. Selling it on at your cost when it’s an essential item should be expected. (I’ll pay a markup on my short-dated Lindt though, happy to help when I’m able).

I’ll come back to it again – people need enough money to survive. They need to be able to afford to buy the food and other essential items they need to survive. Welfare rates need to be above the poverty line. People need to be able to afford to buy groceries and afford healthcare. There’s a lot that candidates can take into the election this year, and I want to see more of them promising to do the easy thing to lift millions out of poverty – Raising the rate of all welfare payments above the poverty line. That will cut demand greatly for emergency hampers that charities hand out each week. That will enable people to be able to directly support their own families and friends in need.

There is a place for emergency help – but having large corporate charity machines is not lessening the need for it.