Christmas is coming.

Yes a good idea Catherine. I don't want to see anyone living in poverty ever. I too disagree that they have brought it on themselves.

But I do wonder how this is happening in this day and age. My parents were both from very large families and both born in 1918. There was no welfare state then and they only had meat (rabbit) on Sundays. Food was not top of the list of priorities either! Rent or mortgage was top followed by rates and water rates. At least then you had a roof over your head. Then food and heating/power. I suppose everyone had gardens then so if nothing else was available there was always...cabbage!

I read somewhere recently that of supermarket waste (still in date and edible but surplus requirements) only 2% is given to food banks, the rest is chucked away. Some of this stuff is fresh but is the wrong size or they ordered too much. Some of it the food banks can't take as they told they have to take several tons or nothing at all.
Seems crazy, if there could be a better distribution of unwanted food products from supermarkets and improved storage at food banks they could be bursting at the seams with produce for the needy.
If only it could be sorted out!

i always give my £19 at christmas time to the salvation army and when i have a few £2 coins, i buy a bit of food to go into the food bank trolley in asda

We do a food parcel,the local school collects all food then sends it out,Also they send a list home if we can afford extra items for the children pens pencils colouring books etc.
I do know there is a lot of waste from supermarkets and some of the university students pick up some great food items from there bins.
I think this applies to most people normal day to day living is becoming harder.

Its this time of the year where you are thankful for what you actually have.

Its also worth mentioning the good work that the animal charities do at this time of year, the case of neglected animals goes up and they are often under pressure to cope, a small cash donation, a can of food or a warm blanket can make all the difference to how these animals are cared for, so please donate if you pass a trolley on the way out of a supermarket which is collecting items for a local animal charity.

One of the curious facts that I had read about a couple of years back was that more money was donated to animal charities than to child charities like NSPCC.

I was born into poverty, worked my way out and now find myself because the wife can't work,(disabled), back close to the breadline! I paid my pension which is just hovering over the limit (£5) of the threshold to claim benefits. I paid my taxes and national insurance, never claimed, trusted the people in power to help me when I got to my age and I find myself having to work more hours. I'm on basic national rate. The rent keeps going up, council tax keeps going up, everything keeps going up except wages! I'm struggling to say the least and my debts are growing.
Stopped caring now. I've been truly crapped on from a great height by the last few governments and I'm still paying tax on minimum wage!
I know of thirty year olds who have never had a job for more than a month. There are kids out there desperate for work and I'm still working!!!!
The powers that be don't care about the people they who vote them in, you & me! They rather give more money to the rich than help some Oaps who are struggling to keep warm. They kow-tow to the banks and big business and ignore starving kids!
The country is **** about face. Paying the richest woman in the world millions while mothers are trying to put a loaf on the table!
The majority have suffered to save a few paying more and especially if the Tories get reelected there will be more deep cuts. You can only cut so much! What happens then?
In London they are moving people out to move rich foreigners in!! Back door immigration. They want another tax haven in the capital. How can a country have tax havens, (channel isles, Isle of Man, scilly isles), when it is part of the whole uk? The list goes on! Democracy! Ha! That's the biggest joke! House of Lords!!!!! We don't even live in a meritocracy!
The class system is alive and flourishing in front of your eyes!
The NHS is being dismantled and hived off in great chunks to big business, it wouldn't surprise me that a similar insurance system as the yanks have will be in place sooner than anyone on here thinks! While the yanks are in a great struggle to achieve what the NHS did 40 years ago!
Education! More money is wasted supporting the four levels of differing education than is spent on the majority of council run schools because of ideology and class.
Sorry about the rant!

We have a food bank at our Church and people know where to come,we are open each day from 12 to 2pm
We also have a box for animals.We manage to volunters each day.
Lots of people in poverty.its not right.
Same in Spain a little village we stay have a charity shop that supports 80 families.

All I can say if you are fortunate then count yourself to be blessed. Anything to any charity helps. I donate to Food Banks now, now and again do a special shopping run just for them. Plenty of people have had good lives only to be affected by ill health, disability, redundancy, benefit sanctions and house repossession. What goes up can come down, don't take things for granted. My heart goes out to the homeless with the weather.

chris lowe said:

I stopped my donations to RSPCA because I felt that they were getting too political, spending too much on pointless prosecutions, and paying their top people too much money. Instead I now donate to a cat charity each month

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I don't give to the RSPCA or SSPCA (in Scotland), they are now being mainly animal police and now give to The Dogs Trust and PDSA who do excellent work helping the poor animals and their owners.