The National recently highlighted that food banks have in some cases seen a ten fold rise in people needing support in the form of an emergency food parcel. The completely solvable issue of food poverty in Scotland will continue to be the number one reason that I want to see us push on and finally achieve our independence in 2021. For over a decade UK Government’s (Tory, Labour and Lib Dem) have made food poverty the norm. It is not normal.
Food poverty can only end when people have the money to afford to buy food. The reality is that people do not have that money. The system that we currently live in leaves people behind and they have absolutely no alternative than to access a food bank. Years have passed and many solutions have been proposed as to how we end food poverty in Scotland, the UK Government have continually buried their heads in the sand on welfare policies and productive changes that could have helped ease food poverty in this country.
The big supermarket chains are quick to take credit for supporting food banks while you buy the food in their shops. They continue to normalise food poverty while making millions from it. It’s high time that more emphasis and awareness is put on why all these food donation bins exist in our shops. Perhaps having some kind of signage stating;
Please donate to your local food bank as the Conservative UK Government refuse to give welfare claimants a reasonable sum of money to live on and the minimum wage is so low we have in-work families in food poverty.” Perhaps this would help to remind people that food poverty and food banks should never be normalised.
I do agree wages need to go up for low paid workers, we do need to make the £20 increase in Universal credit permanent, we do need to scrap the 5 week wait and yes, people are needing cash right now due to covid instead of food parcels, we must do all we can to keep everyone safe including our volunteers through this crisis. The elephant in the room however on how we eradicate this problem forever is clearly Scottish Independence. Surely anyone can see that the UK Government whether it’s red or blue will never end food poverty in our country. More and more people are plunging deeper into poverty due to the pandemic, things are going to get worse in Bojo’s Brexit Britain. It is only with independence we will finally say goodbye to food banks in Scotland.
Natalie Don visiting EBI Unites Community Food Pantry