It is a sign of the times that food banks are having to quibble with Tesco or other supermarkets about when and how we collect surplus food (Charities attack Tesco rules for evening-only collection of unwanted food, 14 May). Organising voluntary food collections is not easy and has to be continually reviewed, but I have nothing but thanks for the local suppliers who support Cherry Tree Centre in Beverley, including Tesco.
The real discussion we should be having is why food bank arrangements are becoming normalised in what, by any standard, is a prosperous and civilised society. The Tories have effectively created a new social segment of deprivation that appears to have become accepted.
I’m all in favour of avoiding food waste, but what were once seen as temporary responses to significant need have now replaced many voluntary organisations’ original raison d’être. Do Conservative voters prefer life this way?
Jim Whitfield
Chair of trustees, Cherry Tree Centre, East Yorkshire
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