Families that eat too many poor meals from foodbanks could suffer long-term health problems
Heavy reliance on foodbanks can lead to long-term health problems, a leading academic has warned.
Families who rely too heavily on foodbanks may suffer nutritional deficiencies because so much of the produce is processed rather than fresh.
Mel Wakeman, a senior lecturer specialising in health and nutrition at Birmingham City University, analysed a range of food on offer at foodbanks and drew up menus based on the items available.
“We found that it’s very much processed food being donated, with little fresh produce,” said Wakeman.
“The meal plans we came up with revealed that in the long term there is a real risk of children and families becoming deficient in fibre, calcium, iron and a variety of vitamins.
“We’re not criticising what food banks are doing and, of course, only food that is safe to eat should be available, which limits the handling of perishable food.”
In the long term there is a real risk of children and families becoming deficient
Foodbanks rarely distribute fresh food or perishable goods because of their low shelf life and high cost.
Instead they mostly focus on tined and dried food which often lack nutrition.
Many food banks say their services should be used as emergency stopgaps.
But there is anecdotal evidence that many people use food banks for longer periods.
An Oxfam report gives the example of a single mother with three sons surviving for eight weeks with the help of food bank donations, while the user of a food bank in south-east London told researchers from Goldsmiths, University of London, they had been using a food bank for almost a year.
The largest foodbank network in the UK, the Trussell Trust, which runs 420 foodbanks, says it operates a strict policy of providing “nutritionally balanced ambient food” to help out in a short-term crisis and is careful to work with clients to make sure they do not become dependent on the food bank.
Some of its centres provide fresh food.
In order "not to become dependent on the food bank" you would have to have, you know, a JOB. And if you can't get one of those for long periods of time on end...? It takes longer than a few weeks to get a proper job if you're anything other than White, even if you're highly educated.