Food bank reliance in the UK triples

[Dennis the 'Bloody Peasant']

The DWPs balls can be seen from space.

More than half a million UK people may rely on food banks, says a study by Church Action Poverty and Oxfam.
It blames benefit cuts, unemployment and the increased cost of living for the growth in hunger and poverty.
Oxfam said: "Cuts to social safety-nets have gone too far, leading to destitution, hardship and hunger."
The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said: "Our welfare reforms will improve the lives of some of the poorest families in our communities."
The report was backed by the Trussell Trust, the UK's biggest provider of food banks.
The trust said more than 350,00 people required help from its food banks during 2012, almost triple the number who received food aid the year before.
But the new study says that the true number may be more than 500,000 as the scale of the problem is not being effectively monitored.
It recommends the government improves monitoring and recording of data on food poverty.

(http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22715451)

[RebelDog]

Our march toward third-world status continues apace.

[rednordman]

Our march toward third-world status continues apace.Your so right on that one. Well, so long the left doesn't have anything to do with it. The worst thing is that the Tories are convinced they are doing the right thing. Scary really, but it says a lot about our current government when even UKIP are scoring points off them.

[Die Neue Zeit]

Despite the circumstances, isn't there a bit of a social opportunity here?

[Rusakov]

What do you mean? By this, I simply mean that it would be better if you clarify yourself. For now, I'd say yes, if only socialists across the UK can act upon it.

[Die Neue Zeit]

Well, Left Unity could organize food banks to differentiate itself from the sectarian "left" and from the Labourites.

[MarxArchist]

Well, Left Unity could organize food banks to differentiate itself from the sectarian "left" and from the Labourites.
I would feel like a Christian evangelist doing that.

Watch this video

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[Die Neue Zeit]

That's how worker-class politics gets off the ground, like it or not.

[Q]

I would feel like a Christian evangelist doing that.

Watch this video

6tmaV9Ozyz0

"This is a hook providing a sidedoor entry . The food is just a byproduct. The point is to talk and we see that often people want to talk about the more important things of life".

Well, [i]exactly. Could not put it better myself.

[Brutus]

So, how do you folks propose we organise?

[MarxArchist]

"This is a hook providing a sidedoor entry . The food is just a byproduct. The point is to talk and we see that often people want to talk about the more important things of life".

Well, [I]exactly. Could not put it better myself.
I suppose you're right, reaching the most marginalized should be and is one of our goals but it seems wrong, to me, to do a bait and switch move- as in, 'here, here's some free food that you need to survive but first sit down and let me explain Marx to you'. It feels a tad opportunistic. In situations like that where we're helping actual starving people, for me personally, I'd rather have it be a purely altruistic endeavor with no political motivations, but, to further agree with you, it is indeed the system itself which is causing hardship so explaining the system to the people most affected by it is in no way an 'immoral' thing to do I would just feel uncomfortable, personally, organizing in that way.

I have experience with this sort of thing- in the early 2000's I was involved with building raised garden beds all over the bay area in order to help facilitate food diversity/independence but saw that differently than bringing socialist ideas to 'the masses'. It was more of a personal choice to do something outside of work place organizing which, at the time, was going nowhere. For me it was more of a connecting with people/helping people out sort of thing not so much a subversive tactic to spread Marxist ideas.

[MarxArchist]

So, how do you folks propose we organise?

Build Marxist churches and invite people in for free food then as soon as they're in we can dim the lights, put a Bob Avakian video on the big screen and lock the doors. Maybe move to Guyana after our congregation, I mean, organization grows. Perhaps time share vacation rentals for the more economically mobile workers? Free trips to Lake Tahoe so long as they sit down and listen to our 8 hour seminar. If they 'buy in' to the party they can visit one weekend a year for only 1,000 dollars annually (*restrictions apply).

I jest.

[Die Neue Zeit]

I suppose you're right, reaching the most marginalized should be and is one of our goals but it seems wrong, to me, to do a bait and switch move- as in, 'here, here's some free food that you need to survive but first sit down and let me explain Marx to you'. It feels a tad opportunistic. In situations like that where we're helping actual starving people, for me personally, I'd rather have it be a purely altruistic endeavor with no political motivations, but, to further agree with you, it is indeed the system itself which is causing hardship so explaining the system to the people most affected by it is in no way an 'immoral' thing to do I would just feel uncomfortable, personally, organizing in that way.

We're not talking about a bait and switch. Sometimes it's a good idea to have a bench, a long sofa, or something (literally and proverbially) so that sympathizers can be led to sit down beside organizers, not face-to-face with them.

They'll have the canned goods and other food beside them or on the floor near them, so all that time they'll air out their social grievances and the organizers can do their political evangelizing beside them. That's a leisurely discussion, not a bait and switch.

[Manar]

Mighty Albion a third world nation? The days we live in...

[blake 3:17]

I suppose you're right, reaching the most marginalized should be and is one of our goals but it seems wrong, to me, to do a bait and switch move- as in, 'here, here's some free food that you need to survive but first sit down and let me explain Marx to you'. It feels a tad opportunistic. In situations like that where we're helping actual starving people, for me personally, I'd rather have it be a purely altruistic endeavor with no political motivations, but, to further agree with you, it is indeed the system itself which is causing hardship so explaining the system to the people most affected by it is in no way an 'immoral' thing to do I would just feel uncomfortable, personally, organizing in that way.

I have experience with this sort of thing- in the early 2000's I was involved with building raised garden beds all over the bay area in order to help facilitate food diversity/independence but saw that differently than bringing socialist ideas to 'the masses'. It was more of a personal choice to do something outside of work place organizing which, at the time, was going nowhere. For me it was more of a connecting with people/helping people out sort of thing not so much a subversive tactic to spread Marxist ideas.

Full agreement. But I'm not particularly interested in 'recruitment', particularly when there's no organization to join.

What I have found, in movement, volunteer and paid work (I work in front line community services so there's an overlap a bit between the last two), is that having a good knowledge of how the world works from a materialist perspective does you a world of good. Going on about any -ism makes people run out the door.

I don't want to hear it, why should they? But patiently listening and explaining things, and making mistakes and letting others make mistakes, can be really great.

There are a couple of pretty cool food projects in Toronto that try to balance practice and policy: http://www.thestop.org/ and http://www.foodshare.net/