MP: Food banks are for those who can’t cook

A TORY MP has suggested people use food banks because they ‘cannot cook properly’ and ‘cannot budget’.

When asked if food banks were necessary in 21st-century Britain, Lee Anderson said there was not a ‘massive use’ for them.

He said people in his Ashfield constituency in Nottinghamshire who arrive to collect a food parcel are also made to register for budgeting and cooking courses.

He urged MPs to ‘come to Ashfield’ and see how food bank users are taught to cook meals from scratch for about 30p a day. ‘There’s not this massive use for food banks in this country, but generation after generation who cannot cook properly... They cannot budget,’ he said.

His comments generated a huge debate, and Mr Anderson later attempted to clarify by saying there wasn’t the ‘massive need parrotted [sic]’ out by the media. Liz Barrett, principal of the college that formed the food bank, told The Guardian many people did need help with budgeting and cookery skills, but that some were simply ‘destitute’.

Labour MP Karen Buck said: ‘The idea that the problem is cooking skills and not 12 years of Government decisions that are pushing people into extreme poverty is beyond belief.’

Food bank charity The Trussell Trust added: ‘Cooking from scratch won’t help families keep the lights on or put food on the table.’