Coventry Foodbank hits back at MP saying situation ‘worst it’s ever been’

Hugh McNeill has criticised MP Lee Anderson who claimed there is not a “massive use” for food banks in the UK



Coventry Foodbank says food poverty in the city is the “worst it’s ever been” and hit back at an MP who claimed there is not a “massive use” for food banks in the UK. Ashfield Conservative MP Lee Anderson also claimed the real problem is “generation after generation who cannot cook properly” and “cannot budget”.

Mr Anderson invited “everybody” on the opposition benches to visit a food bank in Ashfield to “see the brilliant scheme we have got in place where when people come now for a food parcel, they have to register for a budgeting course and a cooking course”.

He added: “And what we do in the food bank, we show them how to cook cheap and nutritious meals on a budget. We can make a meal for about 30 pence a day. And this is cooking from scratch.” Intervening, Labour MP Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) asked: “Should it be necessary to have food banks in 21st century Britain?”

Mr Anderson replied: “He makes a great point and this is exactly my point. So, I invite you personally to come to Ashfield, look at our food bank, how it works and I think you will see first hand that there’s not this massive use for food banks in this country but generation after generation who cannot cook properly, they can’t cook a meal from scratch. They cannot budget.

Hugh McNeill, project manager at Coventry Foodbank, spoke of his shock at a speech he described as “condescending. He said: “I saw the whole speech and was completely shocked with the tone of it. I felt it was quite condescending and didn’t understand the complex issues that many people face when they come to food banks.”

Mr McNeill, who has worked at Coventry Foodbank for nine years, said it was complete nonsense to claim that people could make a nutritious meal for 30p or live for a day on that amount.

He said: “At the start of Lent I lived on £5 for five days, three meals a day and 33p for a meal. This gentleman said you can cook for 30p a day - it’s just not possible to do that.

“I tried to do that, by the end of the period I was really struggling with the effects of not having proper nutrition. To say you can cook a meal for 30p is wide of the mark.

“I tried living on a pound a day and that was impossible. I recorded that. By day five I was just really struggling with the effects of it.

“What you are doing is just eating carbohydrates but your body is craving protein and other things. You might be able to do it as a one-off but you can’t do it long-term.

“I was feeling really lethargic, tired and struggling a little bit. You are not getting the right nutrition so after five days your body is screaming out for some proper food. I can’t see how it would be possible to do that.”

Mr McNeill also said that food poverty in Coventry is the worst it has ever been since he has been at the food bank.

He said: “We have seen a massive increase in people using our services since the start of the year and if people can I would ask them to make a donation to Coventry Foodbank. Every can at this time does matter. There are collection points at all major supermarkets in the city.

“We’re talking upwards of about a 14-15 per cent increase in demand.”

He added: “But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Adding in community supermarkets and pantries, between us the real picture of food poverty and inequality in the city is quite stark. I have never seen it as bad as it is now.”

This gentleman said you can cook for 30p a day - it’s just not possible to do that.

It most certainly is 'possible'.

The woman who posted this video five years ago is now a self-made millionaire with a passive income of $54,000 a month and still eats only budget food (some of it from foodbanks!)