Food Banks Matter. And There Is No Shame in Asking for Help

Food banks perform a vital role in communities across the UK.

They provide emergency groceries and other essential items to individuals and families who might otherwise be forced to go without.

Yet some people still feel embarrassed about asking a food bank for help. They may worry that they will be judged or believe food banks are intended for somebody in circumstances more desperate than their own.

There should be no shame whatsoever in needing support. Food banks exist to help people through difficult periods, and those who use them come from every imaginable background.

Anyone Can Experience a Financial Crisis

The popular image of a food bank user does not reflect reality. Many people seeking help are employed, have worked throughout their adult lives or have previously been financially secure.

There are numerous reasons why an “ordinary” person or family might suddenly struggle to put food on the table. These include:

Redundancy, reduced working hours or the loss of overtime

A delay in receiving wages or benefit payments

Illness, disability or the need to care for a family member

An unexpected household repair or large bill

Rising rent, mortgage, energy or transport costs

Relationship breakdown, bereavement or leaving an abusive home

Having to replace an essential appliance

The additional cost of feeding children during school holidays

Becoming homeless or being placed in temporary accommodation

A fixed pension that no longer covers essential living costs

Self-employed work unexpectedly drying up

Debt repayments leaving too little money for food

Sometimes a family’s budget is so finely balanced that one unexpected expense, a broken pair of spectacles or an emergency dental treatment for example, is enough to cause a crisis. 

A broken washing machine, emergency journey, car repair or week away from work can leave somebody choosing between buying groceries, heating the home and paying the rent. The expression "heat or eat" is a genuine cause for concern for some people.

That is not a personal failure. It is a difficult situation in which practical help is needed.

Asking for Help Is a Sensible Step

Nobody should feel they must wait until the kitchen cupboards are completely empty before seeking support. Asking for help early may prevent a short-term problem from becoming a much more serious crisis.

Food bank volunteers understand that life can change quickly. Their purpose is to help, not to interrogate or judge the people who come through the door.

Different food banks have different arrangements. Some accept direct visits, while others use referrals from organisations such as Citizens Advice, schools, GPs, housing associations, community groups or local support services. Anyone unsure of what to do should contact their nearest food bank and ask how its system works.

Accepting a food parcel during a difficult week does not define a person. Nor does it mean they will always require assistance. It simply means that, at that moment, their community is helping them.

Supporting Your Local Food Bank

Food banks depend heavily upon the generosity of donors and volunteers. If you are in a position to help, contact your local food bank before shopping and ask which items are most urgently needed.

Commonly requested donations may include:

Tinned meat, fish, vegetables, fruit and soup

Pasta, rice and cooking sauces

Breakfast cereal and long-life milk

Tea, coffee and fruit squash

Biscuits and other small treats

Baby food, nappies and sanitary products

Soap, shampoo, toothpaste and toilet rolls

Pet food

Donations should be unopened, undamaged and within their use-by date. Food banks may already have plenty of certain products while running desperately short of others, so checking their current list can make every donation more useful.

Cash donations can be especially valuable because they allow food banks to purchase exactly what is required, cover operating expenses and respond quickly when stocks are low.

Giving Your Time

Volunteering is another important way to support a food bank. Volunteers may sort donations, check dates, pack parcels, collect food from supermarkets, drive deliveries, maintain stock records, welcome visitors or help with fundraising and publicity.

Not every role involves meeting food bank users directly, and opportunities may be available to suit different abilities, schedules and levels of mobility. Even a few hours occasionally could make a meaningful difference.

Food banks should not have to exist in a prosperous society, but while people are going hungry, their work remains essential. They represent communities at their most compassionate: neighbours helping neighbours through difficult days.

If you need a food bank, please use it without shame. If you can donate food, money or time, please consider doing so. Today you may be the person offering help; tomorrow, circumstances could mean that you are the one who needs it.

The married couple behind That's Food and Drink work with a local food bank and we are happy to be able to do so.

To find out about local food banks Google "food banks near my location" and check out these resources:

• Trussell food-bank finder – Enter a town, city or postcode to find nearby food banks and learn whether a voucher or referral is required.
• Independent Food Aid Network – A postcode-searchable directory of independent food-aid providers outside the Trussell network.
• Citizens Advice: Using a food bank – Explains how food banks work and how to obtain a referral. A local Citizens Advice adviser may be able to issue a food-bank voucher.
• Citizens Advice Wales – Food-bank and referral information specifically for people living in Wales.
• Advice NI Crisis Support – Northern Ireland residents can obtain advice about local food banks. Its advisers can also issue vouchers for participating food banks.
• ALISS – A Local Information System for Scotland – Search for “food bank” and enter a Scottish town or postcode to find nearby support services.
• GOV.UK local council cost-of-living support – Connects people with their council, which may offer emergency help with food and other essentials. Applicants do not necessarily need to be receiving benefits.
• FoodCycle meal finder – Not a food-bank service, but a useful directory of free community meals. Visitors can search by postcode and many meals require neither a voucher nor a referral.

Opening times, eligibility rules and referral arrangements vary. Whenever possible, telephone or email the food bank before travelling, especially when food is needed urgently.

National Food Bank Day: Supporting the People Who Support Our Communities

Food is something many of us can easily take for granted. We open the cupboard, look in the fridge and decide what we fancy for dinner. 

Yet for a growing number of people, the question isn't what to eat, but whether there will be enough food to eat at all.

National Food Bank Day is an opportunity to recognise the extraordinary work carried out by food banks, their volunteers and everyone who donates food, money or time to help neighbours who are struggling.

Food banks provide emergency supplies to individuals and families experiencing financial hardship. The reasons somebody might need their help are many and varied. A sudden job loss, illness, relationship breakdown, unexpected household bill or delay in receiving benefits can leave a previously financially secure household struggling to put meals on the table.

And food poverty isn't always obvious. The person using a food bank could be somebody you work with, an elderly neighbour or a parent at the school gates.

What Can We Donate?

National Food Bank Day is a good excuse to check the kitchen cupboards and, better still, add a few extra items to the weekly shopping basket specifically for donation.

Food banks commonly welcome long-life products including:

Tinned vegetables, fruit, meat and fish

Pasta, rice and noodles

Pasta sauces

Breakfast cereals

Tea and coffee

UHT milk

Tinned soups

Biscuits and snacks

Long-life fruit juice

Tinned puddings and custard

However, don't automatically assume what your local food bank needs. Many publish regularly updated lists of urgently required products. Some may have plenty of pasta but desperately need tinned meat, coffee or long-life milk.

And remember that food banks frequently need non-food essentials too, including toiletries, sanitary products, nappies, washing powder and household cleaning products.

Every Donation Counts

You don't need to arrive with a trolley overflowing with groceries to make a difference. One tin of beans, a packet of cereal or a carton of long-life milk might seem insignificant, but thousands of people each donating one or two products can make an enormous collective difference.

Supermarket collection points also make donating particularly easy. Simply buy an additional item and place it in the collection box after paying.

At That's Food and Drink, we believe food should bring people together rather than highlight the inequalities between us.

So, on National Food Bank Day, why not find out what your local food bank needs?

Because nobody should have to wonder where their next meal is coming from.