Invest in communities, not money off at Nando’s – bishop
A community leader running a food bank says government money would be better spent on local communities, not on ‘£10 off at Nando’s'.
Bishop Desmond Jaddoo, who set up ‘Food Parcel Mondays’ at the Assemblies of the First Born Church on Birmingham's Lozells Road six weeks ago, says that the wake up call from coronavirus "is not being heard" for some of the most vulnerable in society.
And he has called on the government to make it easier for people to access support, claiming that they "too often leave themselves apart from the normal man".
Every Monday, Bishop Desmond and his group of volunteers hand out food packages from the First Born Church to members of the public, with around 180 given out at the most recent gathering.
Food items include tins, cans, dried cereal, pasta and occasionally fresh fruit and veg, though this is a rarity, Bishop Desmond says.
Earlier this week Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced his ‘eat out to help out’ campaign, whereby people will be able to get up to £10 off their bill per head if they eat out from Monday to Wednesday.
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And while Bishop Desmond says he understands the need to get the economy moving again, he feels that the money could be better spent helping the more vulnerable in society.
“The government need too kickstart the economy, right – and I get that, I do,” he said.
“However what we see now, with the pulling out of shops such as John Lewis from the city centre, clearly tells us that we have to be practical about how government seek to spend money.
Homeless
“Giving money off of meals out – who is that benefitting, what class of people is that going to benefit? Yes it may help some people, but some of the people that we’re catering for are not going to be able to afford to go to Nando’s anyway in the first place. What we’re getting is people in low income jobs, people who are homeless or living in HMO’s, and we’re also getting people with no recourse to public funds, in terms of their immigration status.
“I’m not picking on Nando’s, but they’re not Nando’s clientele. They’re not clientele for one of the local Wetherspoons pubs either. So who is it really benefiting? We’ve got a lot of people in need, and the people that we’re serving at the food bank, I know they’re not the people I would see in Nando’s on a Friday night.
“When we talk about the provision of funds, I think this is where I do believe at times governments leave themselves too far away from the normal man. And that has to stop. Because there’s a clear lack of understanding of the basic social and economical needs of people in places such as inner-city Birmingham.
“I’d like to see greater access granted to government funds. Don’t get me wrong, they have made money available, but we need to have a long-term strategic plan in terms of creating greater opportunities. What we need to be doing is seizing the moment to bring about those all important changes.
“But the problem that we have is no one is seizing the moment, and that’s the thing. The wake up call is not being heard.
“In my opinion, if someone can afford to go out on a Saturday night and eat in a restaurant, then they don’t need to get the £10 off. What we need to be doing is investing in our local communities right now in order to cater for the needs of the people in those communities.
“Our aim is not just to have a food bank, our aim is to continue with it and to increase advocacy, increase counselling, and also increase the provision of opportunity through potential referrals to education and training.
“Now, does that not sound better than giving somebody a tenner off Nando’s?”
