WHILE Julian Roskams and Harriett Baldwin are to be applauded for their commitment, we need to understand why Malvern needs a food bank.
We live in a relatively wealthy town, with a relatively high average household income (£28,752 a year in 2012) and relatively low percentage of economically active people on Jobseekers Allowance (JSA). However, this 2 per cent figure masks some uncomfortable truths.
The JSA figure is not an accurate indicator of actual worklessness, or the number in part- time or precarious work, or on zero-hours contracts.
It also masks the fact that many people in work are on minimum wage, which is by no means a living wage.
Coalition Government austerity policies have cut huge holes in the safety net which the welfare state once offered.
For too many people then, the economic recovery simply doesn't exist.
They can't make ends meet. They can't afford to feed or house themselves, or their families.
And remember, many of these people needing the charity of a food bank are in work and still poor. For them, austerity policies have meant a back to the future return to the 1930s.
Dr John Blewitt
Chairman
Malvern Hills Green Party
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