The War of Jenkin’s Cereal

I followed the furore about Lady Jenkin’s comments at the release into the rising use of food banks in this country. Let me first say that the bodies that organise food banks deserve the highest praise. It is hard work that delivers real results to the neediest people, and is often the subject of pretty ignorant criticism.

Not so long ago I spoke to a volunteer at food bank in a South Coast town. She told me tragic stories where individuals and families have absolutely nothing and where the food bank is the place of last resort, the difference between hunger and a meal. This is frequently because the state has created such a byzantine benefit and taxation system that it is easy to fall foul of it, but incredibly difficult to get payments re-instated.

Now Lady Jenkin is correct a bowl of porridge is a better start to the day than a bowl of cereal, and on the face of it is probably cheaper. However Lady Jenkin makes the common mistake of looking at the problem through a personal lens. Now I don’t know, but I suspect that the Jenkin family have a well-equipped kitchen with plenty of basic foodstuffs. As in my own household breakfast is probably a great communal start to the day. Unfortunately many people do not have this advantage.

Too often we look at others through the lens of our own experience, I am as guilty of this as others. I have had many advantages in life not least the embrace of a loving family. This was my good luck. We should always be aware that everybody’s circumstances are different, and make comments very carefully.