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Interesting conversation at supermarket check out till on free school meal vouchers & food poverty last night, which highlighted the attitudes many people have about the issue. (Mini-thread)
“What do you do for a living?”
Me; “I help low income families”
“Oh that’s nice”>
“What do you do for a living?”
Me; “I help low income families”
“Oh that’s nice”>
Me: “yes it’s interesting times”
“Those school vouchers are a problem though”
Me: “yes we’ve been looking that issue during covid. Are the vouchers not working sometimes?”
“No they work too well”
Me: “How do you mean?
“Those school vouchers are a problem though”
Me: “yes we’ve been looking that issue during covid. Are the vouchers not working sometimes?”
“No they work too well”
Me: “How do you mean?
“We had one lady last week, she bought clothes and alcohol with them”
Me: “oh OK. Maybe it was part of her weekly shopping”
“Yes but that money is to feed the kids”
Me: “Life is tough for the parents too though”
“Yes I guess you’re right”
Me: “oh OK. Maybe it was part of her weekly shopping”
“Yes but that money is to feed the kids”
Me: “Life is tough for the parents too though”
“Yes I guess you’re right”
We didn’t get into it much more because it was just a general chit chat on the till but I did think it was an interesting conversation highlighting how easy it is to judge someone using school meal vouchers. As a society we have a tendency to judge deserving / undeserving >
What a parent buys with Government provided vouchers or benefits has always been under intense scrutiny. Whether it’s buying clothes or alcohol or stories of low income families ‘having the latest phone or wide screen TV’ in the media. But then we’re equally angry about poverty!
Just for a second, imagine now that parent didn’t use those vouchers, and paid for those goods using cash or a debit card. There would be no judgement at all. Just a Mum buying some clothes from the supermarket and a bottle of wine to have with dinner as part of a weekly shop
Feelings of ‘deserving/undeserving’ run really deep through our society. Many people judge what people receiving Government support should be spending their money on, especially when vouchers are involved. What’s deemed as normal spending to most are judged as ‘luxuries’ >
