Defrauding charity #FoodBanks 10

Today the Daily Mail / Mail on Sunday paper is the most hated thing on the internet after the article by Ross Slater, closely followed by that big brother woman.
You must have read this today? About the lying reporter wasting time and stealing food?

Screenshot of article

Michelle from Crowther Clan blog wrote this post earlier. A well worded moan at the Daily Mail, which I recommend reading. Also Mummy Glitzer wrote a brilliant blog post about food banks.

Screenshot highlighting error.

I am annoyed at the Mail, its blatant lies. The big lie is highlighted here!

What their reporter did was lie and cheat his way to a food parcel. Sounds like fraud and obtaining goods by deception. Pretty sure that’s criminal, no?

This annoyed me as the article blames the food bank he tricked. They were too helpful, the citizens advice bureau and the food bank were kind, and misjudged a man who was faking. They didn’t know he was lying his butt off, a reporter hungry for a story rather than a father and husband with no food in the kitchen. They believed him, and I think I prefer that the system is the way it is. We shouldn’t have to prove how much a helping hand is needed when we are struggling, I like that questions were asked but people who are struggling and can’t feed themselves or their families may already feel like beggars, if I had to find proof before admitting I need help I wouldn’t ask for help. Oh and it also goes on to state some people claim food too often – maybe they have bigger families to feed – its not being greedy if its needed.

I haven’t been to a food bank as a parent, but as a child I was fed that way a couple of times… Its a helping hand not the easy thing to do. I remember going to a charity cafe where they charged low prices (probably only covered the cost of the ingredients & fuel for cooking it) or gave it free to certain customers depending on need. I remember it fondly there, the people were kind and understood. We didn’t always pay, and they gave us toys at Christmas. My mother had to answer questions, sometimes there was nothing in the cupboard except dry rice, we weren’t defrauding that charity. But proof wasn’t required, nor should it be. Most people wouldn’t lie about this kind of thing.

If a parent, or child, or for that matter a single person goes to any type of crisis charity I would love them to be helped, not interrogated over how needy, how skint, how starving? That doesn’t sit right with me. I am not rich, we do struggle, and we do often put groceries on credit cards we can’t pay back. But I don’t feel as broke as we were when I was a child. So I don’t go to food banks, but if my credit card bounces we would be at the food bank. No doubt about it.

I don’t want my boys to know what its like to go to sleep so hungry you feel dizzy and sick, scrumping from fruit trees over hanging the 2 mile lane on my walk to school. Knowing what’s edible from hedgerows because you needed to forage rather than wanted to.
That is not what I want for my kids. I will sell everything I own before that happens. Well everything except my late Grandmother’s engagement ring.

When D was a baby and toddler I would often not eat so we could afford to stretch things a little more, looking after him more than me. I understand what its like.

But Daily Mail / Mail on Sunday, you crossed a line. A new low. You stole from genuinely starving people. By lying. By relying on decent honest people who took your reporter at his word. And you published this article on Easter? What is wrong with the editors at the Mail!? Seriously… You went too far. You need to donate man hours and cash/food to local food or poverty based charities to fix this. Your reporter tweeting he returned the food is not enough, he’s not sorry, nor are you Daily Mail.

A fabulous satirical twitpic

But it has turned out good. Many of the people the Mail outraged have donated to the charity the Mail tried to damage. This Easter thousands of pounds have been donated as a protest to this article. Dear Daily Mail, please sack whoever allowed this? I know you won’t, you’ll promote them instead.

The charity the mail tried to stitch up

A few good opinions

I think Mr reporter thinks this is an apology? #LameEffort

I am not saying you should donate, but if you can afford £2 I bet the food banks wouldn’t waste it. About the price of an Easter egg, to help feed those that need it. Great come back to a poisonous article. At the time of writing this the crack UK hunger justgiving total was £36 thousand. That is lots of people helping others. Brilliant. 😉