Five food banks are now in operation across Caerphilly County Borough Council, as the number of people using them in Wales tripled last year.
Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Town Centre Management team have helped set up the food banks in New Tredegar, Blackwood, Risca and Caerphilly through partnerships with local supermarkets. The banks are run by volunteer groups and survive through donations.
Lucie Brown, from Asda Blackwood, said: “We as a store do our best to support our local food bank because we think it’s such a great cause and it help’s so many people in our community. The food bank volunteers come in to store on the first Monday of every month to do a food collection.”
Cllr Ken James, cabinet member for regeneration, sustainable development and planning, said: “Unfortunately we are seeing an increased need for food banks as residents struggle with the tough economic climate and I fear this will only worsen as the changes to the UK Government’s welfare system take hold.
“These resources provide a lifeline to struggling families so I ask everyone who can to donate; even simple items such as Long Life Milk and tinned goods can make a huge difference and for those who can give up their time volunteers are also desperately needed.”
Care professionals such as doctors, health visitors, social workers, Citizens Advice Bureau staff, welfare officers, the police and probation officers can issue food bank vouchers.
This is appalling news and nothing to proud of, except of course, to congratulate the people who volunteer to run such facilities.
The numbers of these facilities opening in Wales, particularly these in the Caerphilly borough County, is a disgusting indictment of Wales National Political Failure to deal with the catastrophic dismantling of the Welfare State, the effect the scatter gun approach to Welfare Benefits by the English Lib Dem Tory Government, and the failure of the Welsh Assembly to be, in the words of Jocelyn Davies Plaid Cymru AM, ` Imaginative` in its dealing with these appalling regulation changes which is already leaving Welsh Families short of food, short of heating and short of any sort of strategy to cope with the reductions to benefits, which, will be made all the worse when the Bedroom Tax kicks in next month, this will, in most case, reduce benefits in lots of households even more. It will also place tenants who are already struggling to pay household bills and who find they cannot cobble together the extra money being demanded by Caerphilly Council and other Social Housing providers, on the slippery slop to homelessness and debt.
What a wonderful world we all live in.
Complete nonsense by do gooders. Food has never been so cheap. You can buy a bag of veg for £2. Make a stew, make a pasta. Eat beans on toast etc.
Do people who use foodbanks get asked if they have: a car, tv, sky, Xbox, bikes, mobile phones? Do they smoke or drink?
I cannot help but think that well paid Caerphilly Council Officers, i.e. the `Town Centre Management Team`, who have spent their valuable time on setting up food banks, laudable as that is, is a step too far.
Regeneration is all about proactive effort to ensure that town centres up and down our valley suffer as little damage by Tory policy as possible.
It is their jobs to ensure that all members of the communities are consulted on issues in those communities, it is their public duty to ensure that their time, whilst taking money from the public purse, is spent industriously in the interest of all citizens, and not providing food for the starving by reacting to the disaster which the demolition of the safety net that is the welfare system has created, the Council would be better placed in employing a few unemployed young people who are currently languishing on the Dole, to help with the efforts of the saints who are volunteering ( Not highly paid local Government officials who have other responsible jobs and functions) in establishing and assisting with these much needed facilities up and down the valley.
These officers have other duties, all well established, get on with them.!!!!
This is clearly a good news story which is turning into a public relations nightmare for the Council, and, its well meaning regeneration department, Why?. clearly because the ratepayers do not think they should be paying salaries to local government officers, with specific duties and roles, and, responsibility to the ratepaying public in Caerphilly county borough to set up ` Food Banks` for those in need in our communities.
Any stories to do with food banks makes people think about the poverty being deliberatly created and heaped upon the poorest families by the Tory/Lib Dem government Like it or not (`RATEPAYER`), but, as in this case in Caerphilly,(Councillor and Cabinet Member Ken James) when politicians of any political party try to make political capital out of that situation they will get their fingers burnt, no publicity is best publicity in respect to the provision and need in the 21st Century for food banks, an entire generation of children will become to reliant on these modern day soup kitchens unless the Tories and Lib Dems are soon banished to the political wilderness, or, of course, until the Welsh Assembly come up with the ` imaginative` measures the previous, Wales Housing Minister, Jocelyn Davies, has asked the current Welsh Assembly Government to come up with to make to lives of poor Welsh Families more tolerable in the face of Government Welfare cuts.
I think we should see case studies published, so we can ascertain exactly what needs are being met by these food banks. How such needs were met before food banks were in operation and why the need for a food bank has arisen.
Generic waffle on the subject of welfare cuts is spurious to say the least. Those in actual receipt of benefits have no use of a food bank, nor should those in paid employment either. Crisis loans are also available for immediate needs.
A soup kitchen provides a hot meal, which to some would be a vital service. A food bank, provides a free handout of food. Which excludes the homeless as at the very least the claimant would need basic cooking facilities.
It is difficult to see how such a large need has arisen for what must be a niche minority outside of the welfare system and paid employment.
i think this is a brilliant idea and it helps so may low payed familys to get through the month when money is short or hours at work are dropped all food that is given is donated so the prob lem that some people have is un called for i have used the food bank before and intend to use it again but i also donate to this charity when times are not so hard so on that not well done to all the volunteers that make this possible 🙂
Food bank doesnt give anoth food must last 6mths
Where are the food bank deposit points in Caerphilly Town being advertised?