Chatterbox Tuesday

Part of the problem is the economics of it. Chartwells are a big company who make profit by a small margin on a large number of transactions. Any reduction in the marginal cost of each food parcel represents a significant profit. Large companies tend to have middle-management structures that reward an increase in profits and don't support moral behaviour, leading to managers acting in a moral vacuum, and with very little risk of their behaviour being scrutinised. Additionally, decisions in companies are usually made in a way so that no individual is ever actually responsible for any individual decision.

Big companies also often have very few connections with the people who are impacted by their behaviour, i.e. no sense of community. If the person making decisions knew some of the families this food was going to, then it wouldn't happen like this. If the person buying and packing worked for an individual school, for a head that knew their families, there would be much less chance of the parcels being so meagre.

Part of the problem is Tories. Food parcels strips dignity and choice from the recipient. The government guidelines are that they should include fresh food, and that they should be ingredients, not prepared meals. Sometimes this will mean adding to the stress of people already struggling to cope.

A slightly less undignified approach would be to give out vouchers, so people can actually spend them in a way that is useful and appropriate to them, and so that they have some choice in what they eat.

A slightly better approach would be to just give people the money they need to survive, Universal Basic Income.

A better system would be a radical overhaul of neo-liberal capitalism, so that our economy actually fosters fairness, stops exploitative extractive practices from being rewarded, and ensures that the weakest and most vulnerable in our society aren't condemned to poverty and reliance on food parcels.

TL;DR: Tories are bastards. And Labour aren't exactly perfect.