“Abusing The System Is A Myth”: Food Bank Employee Explains Why Lying To Get Free Food At A Food Bank Doesn’t Make Sense
Interview With Author
While they say that Advent is the season of giving—mostly because it’s Christmas season and it’s a major month for fundraising in general—remember that it’s never a bad time to give. It’s not like worldly problems suddenly go away in January.
Locations like food banks and food pantries are perfect examples of giving all year round, and one Tweeter recently shared just how much they are giving. In particular, this was in response to numerous questions regarding the issue of lying on the application, but it’s surely a thread that got everyone talking.
More info: Twitter
You’d expect food banks to have an anti-cheating system, but turns out some kinda don’t and they don’t have to
Image credits: Georgia National Guard (not the actual photo)
Meet Twitter user @AsToldByKaki, with whom Bored Panda got in touch, who recently addressed a question she often gets as an employee of a food bank in Texas and who thus spends a lot of time around food pantries and distribution centers.
She often gets asked whether people lie and come get food in cases when they don’t actually need it. Her short answer to this was “no,” but her longer answer gave some insight into food banks and how, for some of them, it effectively doesn’t really matter if people are lying or not.
This food bank employee explains why it doesn’t really matter if people lie to get food
Image credits: astoldbykaki
“I tweeted it without really putting a lot of thought behind it after helping out at a food distribution in the August Texas heat,” explained Kaki. “I was tired, and someone asked me the question I so often get asked: ‘do you think people lie about needing food?'”
She continued: “I’ve seen people line up at food pantries as early as 4 am. I’ve seen people borrow their neighbors’ car to come pick up food for their families. I’ve seen people come on bikes, motorcycles, and on foot to carry what they can. Nobody does that for fun. It’s free food, I don’t even see how it can be abused.”
“Do some people ‘need it more than others?’ Sure, but at the end of the day, everybody deserves to eat. Some people get all of their food from pantries, and some supplement what they’ve bought from the grocery store with food pantry food. Both are perfectly fine.”
Image credits: astoldbykaki
You see, Kaki explains that the whole idea of “people abusing the system” of what effectively constitutes a food bank is a myth. Not only is there much more food in supply than there is actual demand for it, but it’s just silly to think that people would stand in line for hours to get a ration just for the heck of it. In other words, there is no reason to lie and it doesn’t hurt anyone in the grand scheme of things.
The real problem is that not enough people are taking advantage of this system. At least for the food bank that Kaki works at, people don’t really need to be homeless, or jobless, or even in extreme poverty to be eligible for this kind of food assistance.
Image credits: astoldbykaki
She further clarified the “we don’t care” part as they still have to fill out a form and everything, and it’s all self-declared so people can get away with lying here, but food is a human right, and having a car or a phone doesn’t mean much because you can still have food insecurity.
“There are just so many misconceptions about food banks, food pantries, and receiving assistance,” elaborated Kaki. “I’ve worked in social services capacities for a long time, both as a volunteer and an employee, and I’ve heard so many stories from people in all kinds of situations. What I’ve learned is everyone’s life is so complex, nuanced, with ups and downs and unique stories. We simply can not judge or place stigma on people who are just trying to get by, especially when it comes to something as essential as food.”
The tweet led to a vast majority of the Twitternet jumping in with their thoughts. Some who also work or worked in food banks shared similar experiences where food banks are overfilled with donations these days with too few recipients. And in any case, they never asked for “proof of poverty.” If it wasn’t charity with the aim of helping, it was at the very least making sure none of it goes to waste.
The short thread sparked a discussion among Tweeters, sharing experiences, thoughts, and other info on the matter
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Others discussed why people would gatekeep food banks and serve as “the Pantry Police.” Turns out, some food banks do have limits if they notice someone abusing the system, so giving regardlessly is not a universal concept in the industry.
Some tweeters also raised a point that the lack of recipients might be things like personal pride—it’s unintentionally dehumanizing in some senses—with others also adding that sometimes the culture of giving is problematic. Sometimes people are looked down upon, scrutinized even because they need help, which only makes the issue worse.
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“I wish more people knew you don’t have to be homeless to receive food assistance. You don’t even have to be unemployed,” noted Kaki. “In fact, a lot of people who receive food assistance work multiple underpaying jobs. Even people who usually get by fine without any assistance can still come to a food pantry if they have a need.”
She continued: “Sometimes people have to pay a large bill, or they get sick and can’t work, so the money that’s usually there for food gets used somewhere else. Those people can still visit a food pantry until they are back up on their feet. Any time someone doesn’t have food, that’s a serious crisis.”
“I also want people to know this: even if you could get by eating peanut butter crackers or your last can of beans doesn’t mean you have to. You deserve to be nourished.”
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The Food Bank employee also explained that there are many “old school” beliefs about getting assistance that are simply no longer true:
“Poverty looks very different than it did even a generation ago. I would encourage people to Google where their nearest food bank is and see if they can volunteer or take a tour.”
Kaki also highlighted the difference between food banks and food pantries. She said that food banks are distribution centers that collect food and in some cases even purchase food at very low costs from the USDA. All of it is then distributed to local food pantries and passed on further to families in need. But some food banks give out food directly, though the former is how it generally works.
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At the very least, the thread sheds some light on what food banks are all about, and that they are still necessary in some parts of the world.
Regardless of opinions, the message of love and compassion in tweet form managed to get nearly 90,000 likes with over 18,000 retweets. Kaki also urged people to learn more about food banks and to consider donating to Feeding America.
And if you need advice on what to donate apart from money, you can read up on it in another Bored Panda article that we’ve featured earlier this year.
So, let us know your thoughts on this whole thing in the comment section below!
I've learned over the years from Americans that the US society is based on "someone might abuse the system, so let's not even go there." Social welfare? Someone might abuse the system. Universal healthcare? someone might abuse the system. Child support? Someone might abuse the system. But at the same time systems are put in place that only benefit the wealthy and the greedy who will abuse the system and everyone is fine with that. Almost as if poor, struggling or sick people are already written off.
You want to know where the "but what about the benefit cheats/food bank liars?" argument comes from? The media. They find a few isolated cases where some lazy bint has seven kids, refuses to find work and can afford a PS5 AND an XBox on taxpayer money, and run the story because of the outrage it generates. Outrage sells. And who really benefits from this story? The Conservative/Republican half of the political spectrum. They feed on the anger of the people, even as the actual people go hungry. The system needs to change, starting from the top. Food banks should be a thing of the past.
This comes from Reagan and his thumping his drum about "welfare queens". He found one woman who abused the system and used that for years, as did his fellow republicans. And as you say, they feed on the anger of people, and they pander to people who don't want someone who makes less than them getting anything. And everyone thinks this is all "free". It comes from taxes, and let's be clear most homeless people at one time or another had a job. They paid into these systems that are supposed to help them, only to be treated like something that you would scrape off the bottom of your shoes.
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I work at a homeless shelter. If you want to help, work to change the system. Donations are nice, but as it says above, we have plenty of stuff. A few more cans of beans or the overcoat you don't wear anymore are not going to seriously help. People need guaranteed housing and healthcare - and it would be cheaper to provide those than to continue to force people into poverty and then punish them for it.
I want to help too. I donate things for children. Nappies and stuff. I wish I could do more.
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A few years back I worked in the Food Stamp(SNAP) office, we always assumed everyone was lying to us. Some of the people I worked with would take it personal and if they could find anyway to turn someone down for catching them in a lie they would do that. I always looked at it like this, they probably wouldn't be here if they didn't really need help, this is not a pleasant experience. So more than likely they are lying because they are scared that they won't get help if they tell the truth, so I would try to figure out if what they were lying about even mattered, almost all the time it didn't, so I would just let it go.
In 2008, the housing crash, my husband and I were moving new mobile homes from factory to dealers, our local Clayton factory 7 miles from our home went under and they would send us down south to LA, TX, Ms, AL, but still barely working. Went into our local dcbs office and had 4 months of paystubs and pay sheets, all our bills, they had the gall to tell us that if we couldn't show them that we were making enough money to pay our bills, then they couldn't give us food stamps, for 5 people. We told them, that's the problem right now, we are not making enough money to pay our bills and can't afford to eat either. We told them we were trying to have a couple house payments deferred to help us but if we had help with food we could pay that little bit of money towards a bill. They gave us nothing. They were a peice of s**t. Fortunately we sold a car and work picked up enough to skid by but it was a harrowing experience.
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Does anyone know of anyone actually cheating the food banks? Even if someone knew of someone that was using them and they believed they could afford food, they might now know their financial circumstances, and they might have a genuine need. It feels like a lot of suspicion but nobody actually proving that this does occur.
Can you imagine the time and trouble it would take to even attempt this? They say there are lines, and from what I've experienced in life, cheats aren't that patient.
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I frequently volunteer at a food bank, and people have driven up in nice cars and SUVs.I don't judge. Maybe you could afford that vehicle when you first bought it, then you lost your job thanks to COVID and now you can barely keep up with rent. I have delivered boxes of food to houses and apartments. Most were in not-so-nice neighborhoods, but a couple times I have gone to big houses in the silk stocking district. Perhaps the latter were elderly couples having a hard time making ends meet due to how expensive their medications were. As I said, I don't judge.
My experience with food banks had been good and no one cared who had how much money or not. That program didn't seem to get abused. Like the post said, they didn't check, you signed up and went to p/u your box of food and that was it. I have seen abuse with medical ins. More so on the doctors side and less on the patient's side. I did see much more abuse in the food stamp and even the wic side. I once tried to get assistance and was told no only bcuz my vehicle was too new. It was like 10 yr old. I needed a crappy car, prob not trustworthy, to get assistance. But others would lie, and even made more money than me, and they got all sort of assistance. I know this isn't rampant all over, but it does happen. I was truthful and couldn't get help.
I love food banks! I think they are the perfect charity. It’s food. You can’t get rich off of free food. So take it if you need it. Maybe if I see someone on the street corner trying to resell a bag of powdered milk, I’ll reconsider my stance. Until then, some people need to get a life. :D
I help run a food pantry in an area that is seen as a beautiful place where tree lined streets are filled with million dollar homes. We sit on the edge of the ocean, have a nice harbor where folks tie up multi-million dollar yachts. Amid all of this, we also have many, many people in dire need of help. Families with young children, older adults living on very reduced incomes and, since Covid, many who have lost their jobs. The hardest part of running the pantry is battling against ignorance shown by far too many in the area. "There is no poverty here" "most of your customers are cheaters who don't want to work." I have a poster in my office: Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well- warmed, and well-fed.” (Herman Melville). I wish I could send this to every person who thinks they know what being poor in the USA is truly about and what those who struggle go through.
There is so much "shame" associated with asking for help that if you ask someone why they went to a food bank, they are more likely to lie and say "oh, yeah, I'm scamming the system... I don't need this. Stick it to the man! ha ha", rather than admitting they actually NEED the help.
When I was in college, it was me, my husband and my son. I also had a friend that was living in low income housing and on scholarship. We were reluctant to go to the local food bank until my son's TA said she volunteers there and there was no way we'd be turned away. She said "If you're hungry, you're hungry. We don't care the circumstances that put you there. Everyone's gotta eat." We went, got food and it helped me last until my next pay period. It helped my friend last until her next installment of aid. When I got a job being a home care provider, I went shopping and donated the food to the food bank that helped me. That's what we need more of. Places willing to give...judgement free...and with lots of understanding.
It's hard to believe that someone who has plenty of money would find it worthwhile to go to a food bank and stand in line to get some free food (where he has limited choice, if any, for what food he receives). Anyone that's going to go to a food bank in not in a position where they can easily afford it, they may have enough money to pay for that $45 in food, but they may want to save that money for other things.
Honestly, who would go there and stand in line for handouts if they didn't need it? The very idea is ridiculous.
Nobody will want to cheat the system, worse people who coukd use it wont show up. Here is why. I just tried it for the first time today. One of the volunteers Clearly had monkeypox all over his arms and was talking to me close without a mask, asking me to read his msgs on his phone (he couldnt read) and handled all the food. And then after all that, the couple in front of me stole my meat on the way out. While the volunteers are nice, and the qty of food is generous (albeit a bit unhealthy) ... not something I can recommend unless you absollutely HAVE to. I didnt feel safe.
lol..getting food from the local food bank can be super humiliating. it's kind of ridiculous to think people are going to subject themselves to rudeness and demeaning attitudes just for some dried oats and canned tomatoes.
I have seen many aspects of using or not using the system. Took a class with a group of Spanish speaking ladies and one went to the teacher and asked for help. She called me and opened my cabinets and filled two bags until she said stop. She was worried about my family going hungry. But another friend was scolded by someone she had promised to give a ride to the food bank bc she was later than she said. The other lady said she had someone to take her to the next food bank and she didn't want to miss her ride. I have been given free food that they couldn't get people to take.
My aunt had a friend who was dying of cancer. He received food stamps because he was too sick to work, but he was also too sick to go to the store for himself. He would ask my aunt to do his shopping for him, but she would pay for the groceries out of her own pocket and not tell him, because she was afraid someone she knew might see her paying for groceries with foodstamps and accuse her of being a welfare fraud.
To be honest, I can’t help thinking they’d HAVE to be desperate, in order to stoop to such levels. Most people would be too embarrassed to do something like that when they don’t really need it, so perhaps they need the help more than they’re letting on? IDK. Just my thoughts... 🤷♀️
We donate cash to food banks. They need it. They know what they need to have on hand. They are a large buyer with access to bulk pricing on many things. I would rather have the people who know what they're doing make decisions as to what they need than guess and get it wrong.
I used to work for Sam's club and I saw how donations were treated. I will never go to a food bank because of this. Just no. They leave frozen and refrigerated things out for hours at a time then put them back in the freezer and donate that stuff.
I spend a lot of my time volunteering with food banks and other hunger related orgs. I get so PO'ed whenever I'm asked the cheating question. It drags you down! There was a group of folks who wanted to put in these "checks and balances" rules to stop food cheating(?). JFC. I invited them to spend a morning working with us to show them how their C&B is a worthless token of their prejudices. Oh no, they couldn't go to one of "those" places. There are always going to be people like them, those who see theft/scam every time they see a line of people waiting to get food. Then there are the Angels who work tirelessly to ease hunger. Thanks the gods there are more Angels than the other.
If only normal banks worked like food banks, volunteers handing out money that rich people would otherwise waste, to those who desperately need it just to get through this week, or month. Instead, they take money off the poor using fees and charges, then invest that money to make even more for the rich. Banks work in literally the opposite way they need to.
Yeah when your ex wife has 5 kids and wants to spend money on going places and than wonders why theres no food for 2 weeks. and the food bank gives you a lot of bread snacks too much dairy products that will go bad in 5 days. But we had van payments high rent and a full time job with one on the side.
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My dad volunteered at a food pantry for over 30 years in a run down neighborhood. While he said there were people who really needed it, there were also plenty of people who didn't. The worst were the people who would come in and complain about the food they were giving out. Sometimes they would go thorough the items and only take a couple of things and have a bad, rude attitude, ask if there was something else instead because they didn't like what was given, or look at it and shake their heads, say no, and then get into the brand new gigantic truck. It's not a grocery store, you don't get to go shopping. You get what they have to offer and thats it. It got so bad my dad quit because he was so tired of people being ungrateful. I understand there will always be people who abuse the system, it's just sad when it's so bad that good people don't even want to help anymore.
Ours requires attending a religious service before being given help.
The tweet thinking it’s absurd that people sell the food is actually wrong. At least in San Francisco they absolutely sell the food. If you go to certain parts of San Francisco you can see older Asian ladies with a blanket spread out and all of their food pantry goods on it. Of course someone may argue that they need the money more than the food which could be true and again it serves a good purpose the food banks. But don’t think it’s not cheated
Go on. How are they managing to sell food that you can get for free? And food banks can have some lovely goods but, you're going to see an awful lot of ramen and cup'o'soup.
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So you are mad at someone who got something a little nicer than you because you think she was irresponsible for having kids in a country currently cracking down on abortion ( fueled by conservative christians btw), but not mad at the system that has you scrabbling in poverty? Classic conservative.
Load More Replies... I've learned over the years from Americans that the US society is based on "someone might abuse the system, so let's not even go there." Social welfare? Someone might abuse the system. Universal healthcare? someone might abuse the system. Child support? Someone might abuse the system. But at the same time systems are put in place that only benefit the wealthy and the greedy who will abuse the system and everyone is fine with that. Almost as if poor, struggling or sick people are already written off.
You want to know where the "but what about the benefit cheats/food bank liars?" argument comes from? The media. They find a few isolated cases where some lazy bint has seven kids, refuses to find work and can afford a PS5 AND an XBox on taxpayer money, and run the story because of the outrage it generates. Outrage sells. And who really benefits from this story? The Conservative/Republican half of the political spectrum. They feed on the anger of the people, even as the actual people go hungry. The system needs to change, starting from the top. Food banks should be a thing of the past.
This comes from Reagan and his thumping his drum about "welfare queens". He found one woman who abused the system and used that for years, as did his fellow republicans. And as you say, they feed on the anger of people, and they pander to people who don't want someone who makes less than them getting anything. And everyone thinks this is all "free". It comes from taxes, and let's be clear most homeless people at one time or another had a job. They paid into these systems that are supposed to help them, only to be treated like something that you would scrape off the bottom of your shoes.
Load More Replies... I work at a homeless shelter. If you want to help, work to change the system. Donations are nice, but as it says above, we have plenty of stuff. A few more cans of beans or the overcoat you don't wear anymore are not going to seriously help. People need guaranteed housing and healthcare - and it would be cheaper to provide those than to continue to force people into poverty and then punish them for it.
I want to help too. I donate things for children. Nappies and stuff. I wish I could do more.
Load More Replies... A few years back I worked in the Food Stamp(SNAP) office, we always assumed everyone was lying to us. Some of the people I worked with would take it personal and if they could find anyway to turn someone down for catching them in a lie they would do that. I always looked at it like this, they probably wouldn't be here if they didn't really need help, this is not a pleasant experience. So more than likely they are lying because they are scared that they won't get help if they tell the truth, so I would try to figure out if what they were lying about even mattered, almost all the time it didn't, so I would just let it go.
In 2008, the housing crash, my husband and I were moving new mobile homes from factory to dealers, our local Clayton factory 7 miles from our home went under and they would send us down south to LA, TX, Ms, AL, but still barely working. Went into our local dcbs office and had 4 months of paystubs and pay sheets, all our bills, they had the gall to tell us that if we couldn't show them that we were making enough money to pay our bills, then they couldn't give us food stamps, for 5 people. We told them, that's the problem right now, we are not making enough money to pay our bills and can't afford to eat either. We told them we were trying to have a couple house payments deferred to help us but if we had help with food we could pay that little bit of money towards a bill. They gave us nothing. They were a peice of s**t. Fortunately we sold a car and work picked up enough to skid by but it was a harrowing experience.
Load More Replies... Does anyone know of anyone actually cheating the food banks? Even if someone knew of someone that was using them and they believed they could afford food, they might now know their financial circumstances, and they might have a genuine need. It feels like a lot of suspicion but nobody actually proving that this does occur.
Can you imagine the time and trouble it would take to even attempt this? They say there are lines, and from what I've experienced in life, cheats aren't that patient.
Load More Replies... I frequently volunteer at a food bank, and people have driven up in nice cars and SUVs.I don't judge. Maybe you could afford that vehicle when you first bought it, then you lost your job thanks to COVID and now you can barely keep up with rent. I have delivered boxes of food to houses and apartments. Most were in not-so-nice neighborhoods, but a couple times I have gone to big houses in the silk stocking district. Perhaps the latter were elderly couples having a hard time making ends meet due to how expensive their medications were. As I said, I don't judge.
My experience with food banks had been good and no one cared who had how much money or not. That program didn't seem to get abused. Like the post said, they didn't check, you signed up and went to p/u your box of food and that was it. I have seen abuse with medical ins. More so on the doctors side and less on the patient's side. I did see much more abuse in the food stamp and even the wic side. I once tried to get assistance and was told no only bcuz my vehicle was too new. It was like 10 yr old. I needed a crappy car, prob not trustworthy, to get assistance. But others would lie, and even made more money than me, and they got all sort of assistance. I know this isn't rampant all over, but it does happen. I was truthful and couldn't get help.
I love food banks! I think they are the perfect charity. It’s food. You can’t get rich off of free food. So take it if you need it. Maybe if I see someone on the street corner trying to resell a bag of powdered milk, I’ll reconsider my stance. Until then, some people need to get a life. :D
I help run a food pantry in an area that is seen as a beautiful place where tree lined streets are filled with million dollar homes. We sit on the edge of the ocean, have a nice harbor where folks tie up multi-million dollar yachts. Amid all of this, we also have many, many people in dire need of help. Families with young children, older adults living on very reduced incomes and, since Covid, many who have lost their jobs. The hardest part of running the pantry is battling against ignorance shown by far too many in the area. "There is no poverty here" "most of your customers are cheaters who don't want to work." I have a poster in my office: Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well- warmed, and well-fed.” (Herman Melville). I wish I could send this to every person who thinks they know what being poor in the USA is truly about and what those who struggle go through.
There is so much "shame" associated with asking for help that if you ask someone why they went to a food bank, they are more likely to lie and say "oh, yeah, I'm scamming the system... I don't need this. Stick it to the man! ha ha", rather than admitting they actually NEED the help.
When I was in college, it was me, my husband and my son. I also had a friend that was living in low income housing and on scholarship. We were reluctant to go to the local food bank until my son's TA said she volunteers there and there was no way we'd be turned away. She said "If you're hungry, you're hungry. We don't care the circumstances that put you there. Everyone's gotta eat." We went, got food and it helped me last until my next pay period. It helped my friend last until her next installment of aid. When I got a job being a home care provider, I went shopping and donated the food to the food bank that helped me. That's what we need more of. Places willing to give...judgement free...and with lots of understanding.
It's hard to believe that someone who has plenty of money would find it worthwhile to go to a food bank and stand in line to get some free food (where he has limited choice, if any, for what food he receives). Anyone that's going to go to a food bank in not in a position where they can easily afford it, they may have enough money to pay for that $45 in food, but they may want to save that money for other things.
Honestly, who would go there and stand in line for handouts if they didn't need it? The very idea is ridiculous.
Nobody will want to cheat the system, worse people who coukd use it wont show up. Here is why. I just tried it for the first time today. One of the volunteers Clearly had monkeypox all over his arms and was talking to me close without a mask, asking me to read his msgs on his phone (he couldnt read) and handled all the food. And then after all that, the couple in front of me stole my meat on the way out. While the volunteers are nice, and the qty of food is generous (albeit a bit unhealthy) ... not something I can recommend unless you absollutely HAVE to. I didnt feel safe.
lol..getting food from the local food bank can be super humiliating. it's kind of ridiculous to think people are going to subject themselves to rudeness and demeaning attitudes just for some dried oats and canned tomatoes.
I have seen many aspects of using or not using the system. Took a class with a group of Spanish speaking ladies and one went to the teacher and asked for help. She called me and opened my cabinets and filled two bags until she said stop. She was worried about my family going hungry. But another friend was scolded by someone she had promised to give a ride to the food bank bc she was later than she said. The other lady said she had someone to take her to the next food bank and she didn't want to miss her ride. I have been given free food that they couldn't get people to take.
My aunt had a friend who was dying of cancer. He received food stamps because he was too sick to work, but he was also too sick to go to the store for himself. He would ask my aunt to do his shopping for him, but she would pay for the groceries out of her own pocket and not tell him, because she was afraid someone she knew might see her paying for groceries with foodstamps and accuse her of being a welfare fraud.
To be honest, I can’t help thinking they’d HAVE to be desperate, in order to stoop to such levels. Most people would be too embarrassed to do something like that when they don’t really need it, so perhaps they need the help more than they’re letting on? IDK. Just my thoughts... 🤷♀️
We donate cash to food banks. They need it. They know what they need to have on hand. They are a large buyer with access to bulk pricing on many things. I would rather have the people who know what they're doing make decisions as to what they need than guess and get it wrong.
I used to work for Sam's club and I saw how donations were treated. I will never go to a food bank because of this. Just no. They leave frozen and refrigerated things out for hours at a time then put them back in the freezer and donate that stuff.
I spend a lot of my time volunteering with food banks and other hunger related orgs. I get so PO'ed whenever I'm asked the cheating question. It drags you down! There was a group of folks who wanted to put in these "checks and balances" rules to stop food cheating(?). JFC. I invited them to spend a morning working with us to show them how their C&B is a worthless token of their prejudices. Oh no, they couldn't go to one of "those" places. There are always going to be people like them, those who see theft/scam every time they see a line of people waiting to get food. Then there are the Angels who work tirelessly to ease hunger. Thanks the gods there are more Angels than the other.
If only normal banks worked like food banks, volunteers handing out money that rich people would otherwise waste, to those who desperately need it just to get through this week, or month. Instead, they take money off the poor using fees and charges, then invest that money to make even more for the rich. Banks work in literally the opposite way they need to.
Yeah when your ex wife has 5 kids and wants to spend money on going places and than wonders why theres no food for 2 weeks. and the food bank gives you a lot of bread snacks too much dairy products that will go bad in 5 days. But we had van payments high rent and a full time job with one on the side.
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My dad volunteered at a food pantry for over 30 years in a run down neighborhood. While he said there were people who really needed it, there were also plenty of people who didn't. The worst were the people who would come in and complain about the food they were giving out. Sometimes they would go thorough the items and only take a couple of things and have a bad, rude attitude, ask if there was something else instead because they didn't like what was given, or look at it and shake their heads, say no, and then get into the brand new gigantic truck. It's not a grocery store, you don't get to go shopping. You get what they have to offer and thats it. It got so bad my dad quit because he was so tired of people being ungrateful. I understand there will always be people who abuse the system, it's just sad when it's so bad that good people don't even want to help anymore.
Ours requires attending a religious service before being given help.
The tweet thinking it’s absurd that people sell the food is actually wrong. At least in San Francisco they absolutely sell the food. If you go to certain parts of San Francisco you can see older Asian ladies with a blanket spread out and all of their food pantry goods on it. Of course someone may argue that they need the money more than the food which could be true and again it serves a good purpose the food banks. But don’t think it’s not cheated
Go on. How are they managing to sell food that you can get for free? And food banks can have some lovely goods but, you're going to see an awful lot of ramen and cup'o'soup.
Load More Replies... So you are mad at someone who got something a little nicer than you because you think she was irresponsible for having kids in a country currently cracking down on abortion ( fueled by conservative christians btw), but not mad at the system that has you scrabbling in poverty? Classic conservative.
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