Lewisham Foodbank responds to criticism

Continuing the discussion from Lewisham Food Bank needs carrier bags and Lewisham Foodbank needs new drivers :

News Shopper has an article in support of the Forest Hill foodbank which was recently (mildly) criticised via Twitter for some of the suggested donations in its shopping lists:

It is heartwarming to see the foodbank’s kind response to criticism, and the outpouring of support too.

For information on donation or volunteering, please see: https://lewisham.foodbank.org.uk/give-help/

Thank you for posting

Everyone needs a treat from time to
time. In my view as well as all the main disadvantages that poverty can bring, I imagine that lesser spoken of one must be the grinding feeling of never ever being able to have anything nice. I’ve done one stint volunteering at a different food bank (pre COVID-19) and they had the same approach as Lewisham. If they were only giving out crisps and chocolate then obviously that would be a health problem, but they aren’t. When I give donations I always give sensible wholesome things and a few treats for exactly this purpose.

I would suggest that anyone who has time to criticise foodbanks has time to volunteer to help pack or distribute food at foodbanks. File under ‘what is wrong with some people’

I dug into the tweets before posting the article (and decided not to link to them), and to be honest I think the original critic did volunteer, but at a different foodbank, and probably only had good intentions regarding nutrition. The criticism seemed quite minor, though Twitter being Twitter…

Anyway, a nice response from Lewisham Foodbank all the same

It is although I’m not sure it will change the mind of those who believe that a food bank should only be handing out absolute necessities because why should those in poverty deserve anything else.

People forget that there are families and kids like a mini bag of Haribo or animal shaped crisps - and if you are stuck inside every evening, a bag of popcorn to share on the sofa might just make it feel more like a date night. The majority of stuff I put in a collection box will be sensible food stuff or toiletries but a little bit of something ‘naughty’ can just put a little bit of normality back into people’s lives.