Powerful piece on how the "deservingness" framework reveals more about our anxieties than actual resource scarcity. The relational model at Nourish Eat End, where names matter more than gatekeeping, actually seems more sustainable long-term than means-testing bureaucracy. I've seen similar approaches in community health clinics where trust-based systems reduce administrative overhead while improving outcomes. The real exploit isnt people accessing food banks, its us offloading welfare responsibilty onto volunteers while pretending scarcity is the issue.
The Post is right that it is good for people to strive to support themselves, but wrong that all those who ask for help don't deserve help. It may be that some who ask for help might be gaming the system, but I suspect that they are a small minority, partly because we put some much value in self-sufficiency. I wonder how many people who are now self-sufficient needed help, like a food bank, to get through a difficult time.
I think people who attack the vulnerable and begrudge them help are afraid of the notion that they themselves don’t deserve what they have and could lose it at any moment
I found when covering real estate for the Globe for a couple of years that the most anxious and unhappy owners were those with the largest houses. They were paranoid about being robbed but couldn’t resist publicizing what they had. Just a small observation. I agree that blaming the poor is an easy way to avoid examining the injustices built into winner-take-all capitalism
I like the way Bri-anne dismantles the lazy logic of the National Post article and gives us something much deeper and stronger.
Scorning food banks and their clients gets us what? Working together to get a more equal and humane society gets us… more equity and humanity. What’s not to like about that?
It's a sad, sad world when so many have to depend on Food Banks. The governments need to wake up and make a living wage a right not a lucky spin of the wheel.
yes it would, and if we would each live into the words we sing like "Open our hearts, open our minds , open our lives to you, O loving God..." that would help too
I can remember when our church had a white Gift Sunday just before Christmas. Everyone brought a food item wrapped in white tissue paper. These food items where then distributed to the needy in the congregation. I don't know if there were people who where not members who received these food packages. One year I was a recipient of this largess. I had no idea it was obvious that my family and I were thought to be needy. We were, but I just didn't think of us that way. The food items, even the canned food were not always the best and that may have been because some of the donors were in the same position as myself but couldn't admit it. I don't know when this practice was discontinued, but I do know we weren't the only congregation doing it. How much better is the idea of a food bank providing fresh food to those who need it. However you are quite correct, in a country that has so much, why should there be people who have difficulty finding a job, or a place to live in peace and be able to put food on the table, clothes on the backs of our children, dental and other health care needs and education. There are probably many other needs that I haven't mentioned. We have to not only provide for those less fortunate then ourselves but also make sure that our food banks become obsolete, because there is no longer a need for them. Then we can concentrate on the other BIG need, PEACE.
Powerful piece on how the "deservingness" framework reveals more about our anxieties than actual resource scarcity. The relational model at Nourish Eat End, where names matter more than gatekeeping, actually seems more sustainable long-term than means-testing bureaucracy. I've seen similar approaches in community health clinics where trust-based systems reduce administrative overhead while improving outcomes. The real exploit isnt people accessing food banks, its us offloading welfare responsibilty onto volunteers while pretending scarcity is the issue.
The Post is right that it is good for people to strive to support themselves, but wrong that all those who ask for help don't deserve help. It may be that some who ask for help might be gaming the system, but I suspect that they are a small minority, partly because we put some much value in self-sufficiency. I wonder how many people who are now self-sufficient needed help, like a food bank, to get through a difficult time.
Great article. I especially liked your question “ Why are we more afraid of someone getting extra than someone going hungry?” Well done
The question often baffles me....
I think people who attack the vulnerable and begrudge them help are afraid of the notion that they themselves don’t deserve what they have and could lose it at any moment
That's a really interesting take, Jane. Putting others down to make oneself feel more secure...
I found when covering real estate for the Globe for a couple of years that the most anxious and unhappy owners were those with the largest houses. They were paranoid about being robbed but couldn’t resist publicizing what they had. Just a small observation. I agree that blaming the poor is an easy way to avoid examining the injustices built into winner-take-all capitalism
I like the way Bri-anne dismantles the lazy logic of the National Post article and gives us something much deeper and stronger.
Scorning food banks and their clients gets us what? Working together to get a more equal and humane society gets us… more equity and humanity. What’s not to like about that?
What's not to like about that, indeed!
It's a sad, sad world when so many have to depend on Food Banks. The governments need to wake up and make a living wage a right not a lucky spin of the wheel.
Livable wages and Guaranteed Livable Income would be great start!
yes it would, and if we would each live into the words we sing like "Open our hearts, open our minds , open our lives to you, O loving God..." that would help too
Amen!
I can remember when our church had a white Gift Sunday just before Christmas. Everyone brought a food item wrapped in white tissue paper. These food items where then distributed to the needy in the congregation. I don't know if there were people who where not members who received these food packages. One year I was a recipient of this largess. I had no idea it was obvious that my family and I were thought to be needy. We were, but I just didn't think of us that way. The food items, even the canned food were not always the best and that may have been because some of the donors were in the same position as myself but couldn't admit it. I don't know when this practice was discontinued, but I do know we weren't the only congregation doing it. How much better is the idea of a food bank providing fresh food to those who need it. However you are quite correct, in a country that has so much, why should there be people who have difficulty finding a job, or a place to live in peace and be able to put food on the table, clothes on the backs of our children, dental and other health care needs and education. There are probably many other needs that I haven't mentioned. We have to not only provide for those less fortunate then ourselves but also make sure that our food banks become obsolete, because there is no longer a need for them. Then we can concentrate on the other BIG need, PEACE.
Well said!