When I was a child I frequently went hungry. My mothers wage was spent on good food for the weekend but by Monday we were back to jam and bread. And never quite enough of it.
As a single mother I determined that my children would never go hungry so the first thing was to go vegetarian. I could feed us all on five pounds a week providing I was not buying meat. They got used to it!
We were never actually on the breadline but make no mistake I would not have hesitated to use a food bank if one had been available and we needed it. Many though feel the stigma and for them it must be both embarrassing and time consuming. It's better than being hungry though and seeing your children hungry.
I met a man in church at the weekend whose job it was to set up distribution centres and keep the surplus food from the supermarkets in central positions to make it available to those who need it. And yes, there is poverty here, especially in the inland towns but even St Mawes has its own problems.
I am now a fairly affluent old woman....but not all have been so fortunate in their old age, through no fault of their own.
To hear a rich man describing the food banks as "supply led" with all that entails was shocking in the extreme. To find both Bishop Tim and the new Arch Bishop of Canterbury condemning this viewpoint is both refreshing and promising...to find that the church has leaders who actually live and work in the real world is something I am very grateful for. More power to their clerical elbows!
Posted with Blogsy
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