Federation Tries To Debunk Myths About Foodbanks
IT is “really sad” that South Yorkshire Police Federation has had to open its own foodbanks, but Chair Steve Kent has asked those who do have spare to donate to help their colleagues.
The foodbanks, which are in the Federation offices and every major station around the force, were opened over a month ago and are being well-used, Steve said.
He explained: “Our foodbanks are virtually depleted now. We’ve had quite a few officers offering to donate non-perishable items, which is very humbling. If people are able to help, we would welcome them to leave some cans and things like that in areas where the foodbanks are, so as people are picking up food, others are adding stuff.
“We used some reserves and a little bit of money from other areas to get the foodbank up and running. We’re also looking at external agencies who support emergency service staff, so that if we run out of foodbank items ourselves, we can signpost people to those organisations. We’re looking at a range of options. If people are struggling, they can come to us and either we can provide it or we can signpost them to where people can.”
Steve said the Federation also wanted to debunk the myths about foodbank use, and officers shouldn’t be embarrassed if they need to use them.
He said: “Our foodbanks are all in discreet places, and our Federation office is completely anonymous – we’ll give people the door code and they’re free to go and use what they want.
“Officers don’t have to be in dire straits before they come to us. We’re saying to people, ‘If you’re struggling to put fuel in your car, then take a tenner’s worth of food and that’s a tenner you can put in your car’. So we’re trying to debunk the myths around it.
“It’s really pleasing to know that people are using the foodbanks, but it’s obviously really sad in another way. But we’re really glad that we’ve done it, because it has made a real difference to people. The fact that we have foodbanks shocks members of the public when they read about it, but police officers are humans too and are struggling.”