Dover's new food bank
- 12 October 2013 16:03247994Many thanks to Dover Foodbank for sending in this press release.
Dover foodbank is pleased to announce it has opened to help those in food crisis in our area. We would like to say a big Thank You to everyone who has helped. We have experienced support across the entire community and look forward to this continuing.
Dover foodbank supplies emergency food to those who are in food crises in our area. A voucher provides 3 days of balanced meals for each person listed on the voucher. The number of vouchers is restricted to 3 vouchers per crisis.
In order to get emergency food a voucher will need to be obtained first.
We have started with 5 agencies which can issue foodbank vouchers and 2 distribution centres. We anticipate this expanding as the need, donations and volunteers grow. Please see our website for the current list of agencies and distribution centres at dover.foodbank.org.uk.
At the moment a foodbank voucher can be obtained at the following agencies:-
Dover Gateway - 69-71 Castle Street, Dover, CT16 1PD
Citizens Advise Bureau (CAB) - Dover Gateway
Sanctuary Supported Living - Dover Gateway
Health Trainers (NHS) - Dover Gateway & Discovery Centre
Age UK - Riverside Centre, Maison Dieu Road, CT16 1RL
Once someone has a voucher for the foodbank, the voucher must be used within 3 days. The agencies will advise when the distribution centres are open. Please note that the distribution centres are only open for 1-2 hours per session. Our distribution centres are at the following locations:-
Footprints, The Beacon - 37 London Road, Dover, CT16 1AL
Old Park Community Centre, Gordon Road, Dover, CT16 2ET
St Mary's Food Stop has been providing food to those in crisis and we would like to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone involved in keeping it going. St Mary's Food Stop will be closing on the 25th of October, 2013. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to email Dover foodbank at doverfoodbank@yahoo.co.uk.
The Dover foodbank can only continue to operate with your generous support. We have a variety of ways people can volunteer, just email us and we will send the necessary information. Our website has our current stock totals and the items of food we are in most need of.
We look forward to working with the Dover Community to help those in food crisis.
Website:- dover.foodbank.org.uk.
Email:- doverfoodbank@yahoo.co.uk
Address:- Dover foodbank, Christians Together in Dover, c/o Dover Baptist Church, 27-32 Maison Dieu Road, Dover, Kent, CT16 1RF
Telephone (Please leave a message):- 07870 361 180 - 12 October 2013 23:49248020I do not disagree with food banks, its a good idea in principle, but I wonder who determines who is needy and who is not,, are you means tested, are they asked questions like, do you smoke or drink, because if they can afford to buy these items then they should give them up first, and put the money on food, before applying for vouchers, there are needy people around but there is also some crafty underhanded ones, that plead poverty but are well off
- 13 October 2013 09:00248033Although I agree with your sentiments in principle, sadly the innocent children are unwilling victims of poverty, for whatever reason. I can see the return of mass soup kitchens before long, many already call for workhouse like placements for the unemployed. Modern Britain, your 'avin' a laugh.
- 13 October 2013 11:22248068sheila
there is a strict criteria about who gets vouchers however i don't know if such questions are asked.
lesley makes an important point about children being the victims. - 13 October 2013 11:47248074Yea!!! Hooray for Sheila. Quite right.
Let us do away with 'credit' in all its forms, if you cannot pay ready money, you simply do not get!
White goods, grey goods, black goods, furniture, replacement windows, flats and houses etc. etc. etc.
Let us speak of it as it is! Money talks, let those without be silent!
Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing. - 14 October 2013 21:27248300her highness the mayor giving her support.
http://www.kentonline.co.uk/east_kent_mercury/news/mayor-calls-in-to-see-7409/ - 16 October 2013 12:19248578the changes in benefits have resulted in a sharp rise in use as predicted earlier in the thread.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hungrier-than-ever-britains-use-of-food-banks-triples-8882340.html - 16 October 2013 14:39248596Sheila asked who determines who is needy and who is not?
If someone applied to the food bank who was not really needy, who would know ?---------------------------------------------------
Lincolnshire Born and Bred - 16 October 2013 14:42248597they don't apply to the food bank kath, they have to apply via various agencies that check details thoroughly before issuing a voucher for use at the food bank.
- 16 October 2013 15:43248603Personally I'd rather 5 people that didn't really need the food got it versus 1 kid going to bed hungry. It can't be easy to ask for or accept this kind of help. So sad it has come to this but well done to the people of Dover for supporting it.
- 16 October 2013 15:53248604As the amount of food available is finite, any person receiving food they don't need means at least one needy person might go hungry.I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
- 16 October 2013 15:57248605Is that in global terms Peter? Are the obese in the USA really responsible for the starving in Africa?Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing.
- 16 October 2013 15:58248606Very true Peter but it isn't always easy assess
- 16 October 2013 15:58248607My personal opinion is that it is scandalous,that our people have to beg for food...We are becoming a 3rd World Country..Thank you,Howard for the info....Incidently the first food bank was opened in the U.K. in 2009..What a sad state of affairs!
- 16 October 2013 16:0124860832, please keep up Tom, the topic is Dover's food bank.I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
- 16 October 2013 16:11248610welcome to the forum elizabeth, i would agree that it is better for the odd ne'er do well to slip through the system and get a freebie than let a desperate family go without.
a lot of the problems emanate from the dwp/atos where they stop someone's benefits then re-instate them later, which is useless if people are surviving on a week to week basis. - 16 October 2013 16:15248612Ah, well then 'the amount of food available' is limited only by the generosity of donors.
[I wont return to the issue of 'need' then, for that would lead us back to discussing the 'staunch' and the 'skeletal'.]
Oops
Welcome to the forum EJ.Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing. - 16 October 2013 16:23248614Thank you for the welcome Howard and Tom.
My worry is that we return to system like the old parish relief where panels of well fed people sit in judgement of the deserving and undeserving poor. I understand that someone has to make a judgement call and the generosity of the donors can't be taken for granted but I can't imagine that anybody truly well off would try it on. Maybe I am nieve about this though - 16 October 2013 17:17248621Sheila, having read your post 22, I wish to inform you that 50 grammes of tobacco at £17 means at least £15 going directly into the Treasury - if not more than that.
People who consume tobacco do not live off the State on account of their consuming tobacco.
It's the State that lives off us!
My tobacco tax by far exceeds my national contributions, many-fold.
When purchasing tobacco, I am paying into many funds, wherever the tobacco tax is invested: insolvent pension funds, State pension funds, jobseekers ...
What struck me the other day was that an anti-smoking campaigner on his way to deliver a speech against tobacco drove right past me in his car in the town centre, inundating the air with chemical fumes: there were many children in prams too.
Shocking!
Now back to the original topic of food banks MINUS tobacco-bashing.
Chanters, Drums and Drones Potty Time http://youtu.be/99fMqpjnXYA
Rule Britannia!
Kent First http://youtu.be/04F3mAP3fV4 Keep banging on http://youtu.be/qYCU_SKmkGQ - 16 October 2013 17:58248627sorry to see you wasting all that money alex, a more cost effective way is to buy your tobacco from dodgy looking characters at car boot fairs.
you also know that none of your money goes to the treasury who usually just fritter it away.