Not too many years ago there was no such thing as a food bank or even a pre-school breakfast club and people were not starving in the streets.

Very occasionally there might be reports of people going hungry, but you would not people starving in the streets like you find in the third world.

Now depending upon which politicians you listen too, they all seem have a different views on the reasons for the increase in the need for foodbanks.

Is it that the government has drastically cut back on the amount of benefits being paid out and that people cannot afford to buy basic food stuffs as some opposition politicians would have you believe?

Or is it that because the foodbanks are there, more people are using them because they can?

If they were not there, then people would have to give a higher priority to buying food out of any money they had.

How many people using foodbanks, smoke, drink, have the latest expensive mobile phones and subscribe to any of the many TV streaming services?

How many of these will also be phoning up for expensive take away meals at the weekend or be seen coming back from the supermarket carrying a large pack of beer?

Could it be that many of these things that they now consider as essential for modern life, but are really a luxury, are now taking a priority over the provision of simple basic food just because that can be provided by a foodbank?

If there were no foodbanks tomorrow would people be starving in the streets or would they need to readjust their priorities, cancel Netflix and purchase basic foods?.

Michael Albin