Food Banks Give Food for Thought

The news has been rife with reports of the increased uptake of food parcels from food banks this week, with some quoting figures as high as 1 million.
This should be no surprise to anyone with their eyes open and their ears to the ground of their local communities. We have been immersed in the middle of a long and deep recession, as have many other economies.
What needs to be dispelled however is the myth that food parcels are being handed out will nilly and grabbed by the bucket load by a bunch good for nothing free loaders. This is not the case at all. Food banks have quite strict criteria in order to prevent the abuse that is feared by the rest of us, and will usually only hand out parcels to those who have been referred by one of the many support agencies and organisations that exist. You cannot just turn up at their door and ask for food.
Whilst there is no doubt in my mind that the number of people in need has increased, for a variety of reasons, what we also need to consider is some on the underlying causes of the situations in which people find themselves, having to all intents and purposes beg for food. Although not having to resort to a food bank myself, I doubt that I would qualify, there has been the odd time when I have been very grateful indeed when a friend has either invited me out for a meal, or turned up at the door with a pile of groceries. Some years ago, when close to bankruptcy, I took the precaution, before things got really bad, of buying in a supply of all the essentials I knew I could not live without, stuff like toilet paper, washing powder and toohpaste, to tide me over.
Unlike many of those in need, I live alone and have no small children dependent on me, so I can cut back on things without the impact being felt by others. For most though, there is the inability to prepare a cheap and nutritious meal from scratch, thereby saving money that might be spent on ready meals or other prepared products. A whole chicken will always cost much less than portions, but won't be any good if you don't know how to cook it, and can't afford to turn the over on. Likewise, many people are having to either take on more than one job, so have less time to spend on carrying out a whole range of chores more cost effectively; or else they are spending much of their income on childcare, with little left to run the car they need to get to work because there is no public transport available.
With careful budgeting most of us can 'manage' but when life throws a curve ball at you, as we see at Samaritans all the time, and there is little or no leeway in coping with a financial emergency, loss of a job, reduced hours or sudden illness, it is then that support such as that provided by food banks becomes vital. For many it is only a short term measure, while they get themselves back on their feet.
There is also the question of the choices we make in how we spend what money we do have available, and the touchy subject of peer pressure. One often hears comments such as 'Why should we help them if they spend all their money on booze or fags?', which is not helpful at all.
We all make choices in our lives, some more sensible than others, and at times of stress the choices we make are much more likely to exacerbate the situation than help it.
What does help though is practical support and some empathy with the plight of others.