UK

Tory MP claims no ‘massive use’ for foodbanks, saying people unable to cook and budget ‘properly’

A Conservative MP has claimed there is no “massive use” for foodbanks in Britain, instead suggesting people use them because they are unable to cook or budget “properly”.

Lee Anderson, the MP for Ashfield, made the remarks as ministers face intense criticism over support available to the most vulnerable amid record inflation, soaring energy bills and a cost-of-living crisis.

During a Commons debate on the Queen’s Speech, Mr Anderson invited MPs to visit a foodbank in his constituency to witness a “brilliant scheme” whereby those in receipt of food parcels have to “register for a budgeting and cooking course”.

“We show them how to cook cheap and nutritious meals on a budget — we can make a meal for about 30p a day — and this is cooking from scratch,” he added.

But when pressed by a Labour MP whether it should be necessary to have foodbanks in 21st century Britain, Mr Anderson replied: “I’ll invite you personally to come to Ashfield, look at our foodbank, how it works.

“I think you’ll see first hand there’s not this massive use for food banks in this country. We’ve got generation after generation who cannot cook properly, they can’t cook a meal from scratch, they cannot budget.”

Addressing MPs, he added: “The challenge is there — come. You’re sat there with glazed expressions on your faces, looking at me like I’ve landed from a different planet. Come to a real food bank that’s making a real different to people’s lives.”

According to the Trussell Trust — the largest network of foodbank providers in the UK — the main drivers of foodbank use, however, are problems with benefits system, challenging life experiences, ill-health, or lack of informal or formal support.

Between April 2021 and March 2022, foodbanks in the organisation’s network distrubuted over 2.1 million emergency foood parcels – a 14 per cent increase comapred to same period in 2019-2020.

Following Mr Anderson’s comments, the SNP’s Joanna Cherry hit back in the Commons, saying: “All of us have foodbanks in our constituencies, we don’t really need to visit his because we’re perfectly well aware of the requirement for them.

“The requirement for them is not that people don’t know how to cook, but because we have poverty in this country at a scale in this country that should shame his government”.

Steve Rotherham, the Labour mayor of Liverpool City Region, added on social media: “Hard to cook a meal from scratch when you’ve got nothing to cook with and can’t afford to turn the oven or the hob on because energy bills are through the roof and you’ve got to worry about keeping your kids warm and clothed.”

Xural.com

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