chem1st Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Foodbanks are springing up allover the country. After paying extortionate rents, men, women and children cannot afford to eat (and food is actually quite cheap). Allotment waiting lists and demand remain high. People are willing to rent small plots of land to grow food. Many of these people in need of cheap food and with the desire to pay to grow their own, will be forced towards foodbanks. How to feed the poor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glennis Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 While you can grow food crops on a small patch of land, the soil needs to be of reasonable quality, if not you will need to buy compost and soil conditioner etc. Then there is the cost of seed and garden tools, and then, you have to take into account factors like the weather, or pest and blight. Growing your own food from stratch, without a certain amount of knowledge is not the cheap option it might first appear. This is why small plots of land are often combined into large open fields - it makes the growing of food crops more productive per acre. I say give everyone a decent living wage, so they can either buy proper food, or give them the knowledge to grow it sustainably - by empowering people with the resources they need to grow vegatables succesfully, which is what some charities are trying to do in the third world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alchresearch Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 After paying extortionate rents, men, women and children cannot afford to eat (and food is actually quite cheap). Allotment waiting lists and demand remain high. People are willing to rent small plots of land to grow food. 1) Define "extortionate rents", with examples, in particular the rents Sheffield council charge. 2) Allotment waiting lists have been long for the last 30 years. There was a joke that you needed to get your name down on the ones in Woodhouse when you were a nipper to ensure you got one when you retired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Web Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Foodbanks are springing up allover the country. After paying extortionate rents, men, women and children cannot afford to eat (and food is actually quite cheap). Allotment waiting lists and demand remain high. People are willing to rent small plots of land to grow food. Many of these people in need of cheap food and with the desire to pay to grow their own, will be forced towards foodbanks. How to feed the poor? Eh? Sheffield currently has 3 allotment sites with no waiting list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem1st Posted November 16, 2012 Author Share Posted November 16, 2012 1) Define "extortionate rents", with examples, in particular the rents Sheffield council charge. Anything over 25% of minimum wage AFTER TAX for working a 30 hour week. In past 5 years, sheffield homes rents up by a minimum of 26%, minimum wage up by just 8%. Rent taking up increasing amounts of peoples income, in many cases over a third. 2) Allotment waiting lists have been long for the last 30 years. There was a joke that you needed to get your name down on the ones in Woodhouse when you were a nipper to ensure you got one when you retired. That 'joke' ain't funny. It is the same with housing, you need to register at birth to have a chance of getting somewhere in 20 years time, but you have to be 16 to register. Isn't it 18 for allotments. (It is in Donny). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinfoilhat Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Eh? Sheffield currently has 3 allotment sites with no waiting list. Please, for the love of god, provide a link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem1st Posted November 16, 2012 Author Share Posted November 16, 2012 Eh? Sheffield currently has 3 allotment sites with no waiting list. What sites? And are these for cultivation or pigeon lofts? Are they near to peoples homes? Or would people have to use our expensive transport system and defeat the point of trying to grow food in the first place? Allotments need to be close to people's homes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxmaximus Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 What sites? And are these for cultivation or pigeon lofts? Are they near to peoples homes? Or would people have to use our expensive transport system and defeat the point of trying to grow food in the first place? Allotments need to be close to people's homes. Define close? One can walk 4 miles in just one hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geared Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Silly question isn't it?? People end up at a food bank because they have hit rock bottom, they want food for dinner TONIGHT. What sort of response do you think they'd give if you told them to head out to an allotment to feed themselves??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Web Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 What sites? And are these for cultivation or pigeon lofts? Are they near to peoples homes? Or would people have to use our expensive transport system and defeat the point of trying to grow food in the first place? Allotments need to be close to people's homes. Corker Bottoms, Wincobank and Woodhouse, hardly call these districts out in the wilderness. Tel: Kerry or Michael Peacock on 0114 - 2734528 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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