The reason why people need to use foodbanks has been hotly debated, with government ministers and MPs blaming everything from poor budgeting to the attraction of a free lunch.
The reason why people need to use foodbanks has been hotly debated, with government ministers and MPs blaming everything from poor budgeting to the attraction of a free lunch.
Those who actually operate foodbanks have always known they are very much a last resort for people who genuinely have no other option. However, in the absence of hard data their knowledge was too easily dismissed. A pioneering report published today(2 March 2015) #cheshirehunger, at last provides the data and the method needed to identify the true causes of hunger in 21st century Britain.
West Cheshire Foodbank, together with the University of Chester and other charities, devised and operated a new data collection method, using a detailed coding system which provided much more precise information than has previously been available. It established exactly why people needed emergency food aid, during the period May to November 2014.
The results are damning for the government. At West Cheshire Foodbank, “Problems with benefits directly accounted for almost half (47 per cent) of the referrals”. These problems included “protracted administrative delays, sanctions and ESA stoppages.” Quite simply, the Department for Work and Pensions was responsible for almost half the hunger.
As for the government’s proclaimed jobs miracle; “low, insecure incomes accounted for 20 per cent of referrals and typically lasted between one and four weeks. A significant number (12 per cent) of crises endured for considerable periods of time however, with low income households unable to afford sufficient food for 13 to 26 weeks.” It is all very well to get the unemployment figures down with zero-hours, part time, low paid jobs: but jobs that leave people still unable to eat can hardly be celebrated.
As the report concisely summarises the situation,
“Severe reductions in UK public expenditure, particularly in social security entitlement and levels, as well as a rise in insecure and self-employment, and stagnant wages have combined with significant loss of local authority networks of support, and marked increases in essential costs of living including food prices, to leave more and more people struggling to sustain access to enough good food for a healthy life.”
The Rev Christine Jones, Chair of West Cheshire Foodbank Trustees, says, “Whatever the reason for emergency food use, any hunger is unacceptable and we are concerned that there is a level of need which is being systematically ignored. We are calling on the government to publicly accept that food poverty is a growing problem and to take responsibility for protecting the poorest people in society.”
Around the country, people know that much of the hunger they see is caused by government policy, and could quite easily be ended by government policy. Ministers like Iain Duncan Smith refuse to accept this, presenting an unrecognisable alternative version of reality. One hopes that this research from West Cheshire will be replicated by other foodbanks around the country, to produce incontrovertible evidence of what is really happening.
The report combines detailed statistical analysis with the testimony of the people behind those statistics. People like Scott, who was unable to work due to a knee operation but didn’t score enough points to receive Employment and Support Allowance. Scott says, “They stopped my benefits and the way they treated me made me feel so small. I was suicidal. If it wasn’t for my missus I wouldn’t be here. We all are humans. We’re not just a number. I’ve got my money now but I would like an apology from the Department for Work and Pensions for all the heartache and stress their decision caused me.”
Richard Atkinson, Director at Disability Information and Advice Line West Cheshire (DIAL) said: “At DIAL West Cheshire we see many hundreds of people who have been subject to unfair and unreasonable medical assessments by ATOS and other government contractors. In almost every case these assessments trigger an immediate financial crisis and the threat of food poverty. It is simply wrong that people who are ill or disabled are placed at risk of hunger in this way.”
Major Gill Stacey of The Salvation Army said: “The stories I hear from people who have lost their job – especially those in their 50s – remind me of how easy it can be to lose everything you have. In these difficult circumstances, benefit sanctions are the last thing people need: the fear that these create can be all consuming, damaging people’s mental health and driving people further from employment. The jobcentre treats people looking for work as third rate citizens. Current policies are dehumanising and strip people of their self-belief, worth and esteem. We need to rethink the way that we treat people in crisis, and strive for a social security system that emphasises compassion and dignity.”
The fear has recently been expressed that the help provided by foodbanks, far from being an emergency measure, is in danger of becoming an entrenched part of the social security system, helping to mask the symptoms of an increasingly punitive welfare state and an exploitative labour market. Without foodbanks, people would presumably either starve, steal to survive, or beg on the streets, and the reality would be harder to ignore or deny.
Robert Bissett, Chief Executive at Chester Aid to the Homeless said: “Our hope is that this report will provide a focus to reduce the need for charitable and faith based organisations to provide emergency food provision.”
Indeed, with fair wages and a properly functioning welfare state, we should aim to make foodbanks history.
Fittingly, the report opens by quoting Article 25i of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.”
Clearly, too many of our neighbours are being denied this right.
The report #cheshirehunger Understanding Emergency Food Provision in West Cheshire, was co-authored by Alec Spencer of West Cheshire Foodbank, Dr. Cassie Ogden of the University of Chester, and Lynda Battarbee of The Trussell Trust. They are to be congratulated on their very thorough and valuable work.
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© Bernadette Meaden has written about political, religious and social issues for some years, and is strongly influenced by Christian Socialism, liberation theology and the Catholic Worker movement. She is an Ekklesia associate and regular contributor. You can follow her on Twitter: @BernaMeaden