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Topics: UK Food, News, Social Media
Ella Scott
Organisers of a British food bank have accused some users of exploiting the charitable service, alleging that they ‘will not tolerate’ anyone bragging about purchasing ‘aesthetic treatments’ and alcohol.
Food banks in the UK are defined by The House of Commons Library as charitable organisations that distribute food to people who do not have enough money to buy the food they need.
It’s usually a service for people who are in ‘immediate food poverty’ and only after ‘all other options to obtain food have been exhausted’.
Most people need a referral before using a food bank, but the rules may differ when it comes to individually-owned community hubs.
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Data provided by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) last year suggested that four percent of all indivduals in the UK had used a food bank in 2023/24.
It’s believed that there are at least 1,172 independent food banks currently in operation across Britain, alongside 1,711 Trussell-run institutions.
One independent, self-funded organisation in Yorkshire is taking a stand against consumers who are allegedly abusing it and are not in ‘genuine need’ of the food on offer.
The accusations were made online by Queensbury Community Hub and Foodbank in Bradford.
On Wednesday (22 April), an ‘important reminder’ was shared via its official Facebook page.
A spokesperson wrote: “It saddens us to have to write this, especially as we are in our 6th year of running and this isn’t the first time we have had to address this issue…
“We are an independent, self funded foodbank- we rely solely on donations from the public and grants that we have to personally apply for and hope we are successful.
“We are not owned or funded by a larger organisation or Bradford council. With this in mind we would like to remind people that we are a foodbank for people who are in immediate food poverty or food crisis.”
They continued, claiming the only people welcome to attend the hub are those who need the service to feed their family because there is no food at home or money left to purchase food.
“We are not a free supermarket. We are a charity,” the Facebook post continued.
“This week alone we have witnessed people coming to our foodbank carrying bags of alcohol they’ve just purchased from the shop, we’ve witnessed conversations about people partaking in nights out this coming weekend and last, we have seen people choosing to pay for beauty and aesthetic treatments costing into the hundreds instead of choosing to pay for food for their families first… and that is just a few examples!”
They alleged that, in their eyes, this was ‘not the definition of being in food poverty’, rather having priorities ‘wrong’ and ‘taking advantage’ of both the charity and its volunteers.
“We will not tolerate it. Going forward anyone seen or heard to be taking advantage of our charity will be issued with an immediate and permanent ban,” Queensbury Community Hub and Foodbank stated.
“As always everyone is welcome to use our hub as a warm space, free breakfast and use of our facilities but our food provision services is for those people who find themselves in food poverty and crisis.
“We will not be taken advantage of when we provide such an essential service for those people who are in genuine need… we will not allow our service to be used to the extent that we can no longer facilitate the genuine needs of genuine people!”
In a statement to FOODbible, Queensbury Community Hub added that they plan on issuing the people abusing the charity with 'an immediate ban'.
"Going forward we intend on putting a small change in place to hopefully filter out the people taking advantage and we can then concentrate on the genuinely needy people who need our service," the organisation added.