(not satire – it’s the UK today)
Here’s a remarkable statistic which seems to have largely gone unnoticed.
A few days ago, Tesco released a press release to coincide with their food collection drive this week which included a survey on food poverty in the UK.
Amazingly, according to the survey, more than a quarter of parents in the UK say they can’t provide food for all the meals their children need during the school holidays.
And almost half of 18-24 year-olds (44%) say they’ve experienced some form of food poverty in the last six months.
While these statistics are astonishing – shocking even – I can’t say I’m much surprised at how these facts have gone largely unreported in the mainstream media.
Welcome to third-world Britain.
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The Tesco press release with the statistics I’ve mentioned can be found here:
One in five parents struggling to feed their children
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That’s not quite how I read it.
I read it as saying that 20% of parents are having difficulty feeding their children and 25% *of those parents* said they would not be able to provide their children with all their meals over summer.
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Tesco who dominate the high street and advise the DWP about workfare
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I see what you mean. However, the survey says “with more than a quarter of parents” not “with more than a quarter of parents in food poverty”.
I’ve tried to find the original survey for more details which would make it clearer but Tesco hasn’t released it unfortunately.
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Reblogged this on Dawn Willis .
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Reblogged this on Johnsono ne'Blog'as.
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Really not sure about this report Tom, it says ‘1 in 5 of parents in the UK struggling to feed their children’ but they clearly didn’t ask every parent in the UK so that’s misleading right there! There is no information about the sample size or geographical spread, so it’s hard to know how representative the survey really is. And as I’ve pointed out on Twitter, it says ‘25% of those parents in food poverty’ not 25% of all parents. Very muddled and unclear all round.
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Reblogged this on paul8ar and commented:
while poverty pimps atos’ boss gets £200k pay rise, uk kids starve
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I did a little more digging about The Trussell Trust.
There appears to a Tory party connection making money from this (salaries appear to be about £495,000) and it’s turnover is £852,425.00
Therefore I assume the Tory party is well aware of the Tesco statistics. It also appears to utilise tax payers money.
https://www.duedil.com/company/05434524/the-trussell-trust/financials
https://www.duedil.com/company/05434524/the-trussell-trust/people
Extract below from an interesting Blog I found on The Trussell Trust and link below:
http://lewishamcampaigner.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/the-trussell-trust-food-bank-founders.html
“……………..If the Tories believe that their policies will reduce poverty, why are the instigators and creators of its ‘Big Society’ policies investing in, and directing food banks?
And not any food banks, but a nationwide network of foodbanks, which charge for the priviledge of being set up and are being used to replace welfare and aid for the poorest
I was shocked to discover this week that this Organisation gets Millions of pounds in tax payers money as well as local council grants to run this service, and yet they have staff working for free and collect food and cash from the public unaware of this even though we tax payers already pay them millions. Who is getting this money? after all it is public funds?
i was further horrified to discover by using a net work of churches, people as part of the service are requested to Pray. We should all be asking questions as what is going on here is a very real scandle that people seem to refuse to talk about, because they are seen to be helping the poor. every one getting public funds must be open to public scrutiny more so when its directors are members of the political establishment awarding tax payers cash…………………….”
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well what ever the true figure its still a disgrace.
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People in the comments seem to be missing the point whilst getting bogged down in semantics.
I’m shocked that any parent finds themselves in a position to not afford food unless the child is in school. Tesco should stop relying on people’s heartstrings being pulled and lower their prices. Along with obvious need for living wage.
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I’m not missing the point, it’s clearly horrendous and unacceptable when large numbers of families are struggling so badly, but it’s not “semantics” to want statistics to make sense, and to be reported accurately! Saying things which are inaccurate is not going to help anyone, and gives fuel to those who say that poverty is exaggerated (ie the government and idiots like Lord Freud in particular).
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the statistics are just the same as an opinion poll done in the same way so i cant see anything wrong with quoting them the same way.
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People who are arguing that this should read 25% of those in food poverty are struggling to feed their children are missing the point. What is food Poverty – surely it is not having enough money to buy food to feed yourself and your family; therefore by definition ALL people in food poverty are struggling to feed their children. To suggest that only 25% of people in food poverty are struggling does not make sense.
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perhaps some of the poor are getting help from family to feed their kids, having said that I don’t trust statistics whatever their source anyway.
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“Research was carried out by The Source research agency using a sample of 2,000 adults across the UK.”
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well tescos is the source i dont weather they can be considered a rialable source or not.
i cant see any reason for them to make it up though.
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Reblogged this on Vox Political.
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Even if it is 25% of 20% that’s a hell of a lot of stressed parents and hungry kids. Shameful.
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Has anyone else noticed how food prices have shot up recently? We normally shop at our local Sainsburys as it’s the only supermarket within walking distance but everything seems to be going up by leaps and bounds. And the margins are off scale – a farmer on Radio 4′s World at One recently put the mark up on potatoes at an astonishing 600%. No wonder people can’t afford to feed their families.
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Reblogged this on Benefit tales.
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Even so, 5 out of 100 is still an excruciatingly high number of parents. And that would also mean at LEAST 5 children per 100.
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chewie…how about this…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/shortcuts/2013/jul/03/lord-freud-poverty-food-banks
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i’m an adult no kids, and no way could i eat the 4 meals a day, i’m on 1 and a snack have been for a long time, dont get me wrong i manage, but it probably doesn’t help my depression or joint issues. used to be on 3 and a snack when i was in the ta.
my nana used to be abled to give us full english breakfast, a sandwich for lunch and a proper meal; at tea time, meals used to be dessert as well but these days the dessert is the snack or the breakfast cereals the snack . but hey i’m not dead i’m still here. but the point is we are far worse off now than we were in the 70/s n 80s. the capitalists have grown hungry and fat.
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Reblogged this on this 'n that.
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I would like to know how it is that children may go short but not the Bull Mastif, and drink and drugs still be consumed by so many hundreds amidst this statistic?
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And does this take into account families that can feed large dogs, provide themselves with drink and drugs, whilst their children go short? I have seen this, and it makes nonsense of statistics, because this is reality for hundreds of those who feel that tax payers should pay for their standard of living. May I also add that hundreds can manage to go out of a weekend and get drunk. I came up in times worse, far worse than these, and my parents, as with others, put their children first, not themselves.
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And life informs us that those who can purchase drink and drugs and can go clubbing at weekends, and then claims they cannot feed and cloth their children properly, are not taken into account, those who will not get their priorities right, are for loading the whole lot upon the rest of us tax payers, whilst giving the impression that all are the same
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Noticed also how sizes have shrunk. I am about to create my own meals, even bake my own bread.
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“Has anyone else noticed how food prices have shot up recently?”
Yes they seem to have doubled in the last 2 years.
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Inflation is racing up when it comes to food. In one week our local co-op has increased the price of butter from £1.19 to £1.49. It hurts but I decided to change the way we shop and eat. No more on-line weekly shop from Sainsburys. I shop locally every couple of days and keep to a strict budget. No more ready meals. I make our bread. One week a month we shop at Lidls. Quite frankly its a pain in the arse but we’re saving about £30 quid a week. I constantly worry about money, we live on a knife edge now. But I’ll be Damned if my kids go hungry. I feel so sorry for people who have to use foodbanks. And Tescos are beneath contempt. If they paid their employees a living wage that would be far better than collecting donations for people in food poverty Grrrrrr.
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There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children. Nelson Mandela
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I see the Tory spin doctors have been round your house, Alan. The number of people who seem to be able to do as you suggest must be a) tiny and b) in charge of the treasury.
In the last few years, I’ve become disabled due to illness and have no option but to claim benefits. However, you never seem to hear about cases like mine, where people have debilitating conditions that render them unable to work. The only thing you ever hear about are ‘Benefit Cheats’ who think the tax payers should support a lavish lifestyle, and people who are just claiming to be ill, so they don’t have to go to work.
Anyone who thinks life is better on benefits is deluding themselves.
And anyone who thinks that the price of food hasn’t rocketed, is blind.
But, I don’t get any more money to bridge that gap in my spending.
My friend is a single mum of 3. She didn’t start out to be like that, she was married, it didn’t work out, and so now, she’s a single mum of 3. You know, the ones that they are always being vilified in the Daily Mail. (what paper do you read, Alan?)
And she’s lucky enough to have a group of friends in similar situations that can help her out when one of the kids needs new trainers for gym at school, but there just isn’t any money left.
She doesn’t have any pets, doesn’t take drugs, and only goes out for a drink on the rare occasion that she can get an (unpaid) babysitter, and even then, its rarely her that pays for things, because her friends appreciate that she hasn’t got any money spare. They aren’t well off, but at least they are working and getting by a little better.
So, what about us, Alan? What about us? I don’t know how much money you think people on benefits get, but it certainly doesn’t pay for as much as you seem to think it does.
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I’m a taxpayer, and I work with young people. I haven’t noticed any of the parents of children on free school meals spending their cash on drink, drugs and clubbing. In fact, if you looked closely, you might be shocked at how different the reality is from what you read in the Daily Mail.
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why do ppl immediatly assume that the poor cant feed their kids because there drinking gambling or whatever, it is tuff during school holidays to provide that extra meal which was provided by the school. And no i dont drink smoke gamble have a wide screen tv dog or go on holiday twice a year
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Alan, you are trolling. Please, people, let’s not play his game. Let him troll away to himself, as he seems so pleased with himself and nobody else. Don’t take the bait.
The whole raft of issues he seems to take as fact we all know are just journalistic hype, based on ministers lies. Let it stay that way.
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My dear sir
you are nothing but a simple onanist!
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When is your sanity test due alan?
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Just to address one of Alan the troll’s bugbears, dog shelters are reporting a rise in dogs – of various breeds- being abandoned/left at shelters because families have become too poor to feed and care for them. Many of these cannot be rehomed and so are killed. Some families see their dogs as part of such, and so adults may go without food so that their dog – a family member- does not starve. This in itself is a tragic situation for many families (even before we consider such poverty hitting children), even if Alan would appear to be personally gratified by such tragedy.
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