Tag: food banks

Love me some fake Mint Slice bikkies, but that Foodbank offering needs some actual food

Who doesn’t love them some carbs? Well, coeliacs and other gluten intolerant people would have a hard time with this basket of goodies Dutton showed off over the weekend. As would anyone who’s just relying on whatever comes in their $5 or $10 hamper this week. One thing about the hampers is while they are technically “value for money” and can have like $100 of food in them if it was in date at at retail price, you don’t get a choice of what to get, and while you can make up some meals, there’s plenty missing. Often it’s proteins – you might get some tuna or some chick peas, or it’s fresh items just aren’t there. Luck of the draw, or being able to get to the right place at the right time of the week and able to carry the items on public transport or have a car.

ABC are running a fundraising drive for Foodbank this week (month?) and the articles that have referenced it so far have not called for the obvious – an increase to the base rate of income support payments. This one uses the example of a disability pensioner who also works part time being a foodbank user. This story has older pensioners and talks about them supporting extended families when they can visit the foodbanks.

I’d like to thank Dutton for his foodbank visit this week. It allowed us to point out that Foodbanks often charge for their food. (the laws vary by state). It also let us discuss the lack of nutrition in the hamper he was holding, and how while this may fill a hungry belly, it’s no good long term. Some on twitter said it was the basis of meals and that then people could get their own meats or vegetables or other “Extras” needed to make a decent meal. Friends who’ve had malnutrition on welfare promptly went to remind them that if people are needing to get free pasta, they’re not likely to have money for meat or veges or anything fun like that.

The Christmas season is upon us, and I’d like to put out there that the hampers that your local charity is giving to the needy is usually paid for by the charity. Standard cost to the local charity is $25 for a Foodbank hamper. One local place is passing on $5 of that to the recipients this year. Another place told me last year they were passing on $20 of that to those who could afford it while giving some for free. I don’t know if the $35 ones that Foodbank is directly asking for donations for are different to that or not.

2023’s Foodbank hampers

So yeah, frustrated that the articles asking for Foodbank money donations don’t call for an increase in welfare payments. And that a girl can’t live off carbs alone.

 

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Why should we care about poverty?

So I started a short course last night – “Understanding Poverty, Inequality and Social Disadvantage in Australia“. My fees were paid for by AUWU, which was sweet of them, and will help put me on the same page as all the not for profits and their staff doing and writing the course when I’m posting for Nobody Deserves Poverty. Last night’s lecture was a lot of background theory and definitions, I may have glazed over at points when they started talking numbers, but it was good to be able to take time to do readings and put my thoughts into words for a more academic audience, rather than my blog posts or Twitter. Like formulating a response to someone hinting towards personal responsibility for poverty without saying as much in pre discussions. But still bringing myself and my experiences, I mean I was there in the Zoom with my hello kitty fleece and onesies downunder onesie on….

In two weeks Jim’ll have given his budget speech, papers will have their winners and losers, and other parties and organisations will be preparing their responses. And there will be a year til the Federal Election. Which should be interesting, let’s see if Albanese can come back from angering many women on the weekend, not just by lying by lying about lying, and using the “But I’m the primeminister” line which was not at all helpful.

Free coffee!

We were talking in line at the foodbank this morning, since we were there before opening, about how everyone is just extra stressed at the moment, and that how if someone pushes in here or another example was a guy wandering cluelessly in front of the like at Centrelink, you have to be cautious about calling them out on it. Because sometimes you get the oops, I’m sorry, but sometimes you might get punched. If politicians aren’t able to keep their cool with women and model that behaviour, how’s everyone else going?

So, why should we care about poverty? was a question posed at some time last night. Perhaps it’s beyond politicians to care about it because of it being the right thing to do to look after others, but perhaps the possibility of being voted out, of rising unrest among the masses, might make them care. Or they may just try to arrest their way through it.

It’s the start of May, so I’m meant to look back at some of the things I got at the foodbanks last month. It was an up and down month financially here, with the boys struggling to finish a job and finally getting paid for it, and different places being closed for school or public holidays, or simply not having deliveries that week. But there was a great rockmelon, a terrible bottle of vanilla pepsi max that got poured down the sink, and so many breads and crackers.

I also did a lovely roast chicken with veges from OzHarvest. These little bean tubs keep giving, and I still get very excited when there’s bananas! Then we had good paydays, and braved the supermarkets screaming why is everything so expensive and paying because we could this fortnight for the big and little things we’d been holding out on. I finally got olive oil, but I keep forgetting soy sauce.

There’s 10+ days of rain here, so the boys are working between the showers. Occasionally someone stops to look at the boat for sale on the front lawn but moves on. I’m trying to keep up with washing on the racks, still trying to figure the best place for them. I looked at the app for the electricity and estimate on that freaked me out. So while I think there are many better ways than paying the electricity companies money directly to subsidise our bills, I’m really hoping, personally, for it to continue for another year lol. I’ve said before I don’t see how they could end it before the election, they’ve cornered themselves on that one.

So, happy May Day.