Tuesday 8 November 2022

Who to help?

During WWII, pet owners, especially cat and dog owners, were recommended to have their pets put down, due to shortages of food for them. Many tens of thousands were 'put to sleep'. Other owners though, refused, deciding that their dogs would eat scraps from their meals.

I think probably dogs are easier to feed this way but who knows. I know fishmongers offered fish heads for cats. Dogs ate water based porridge for breakfast, crusts from bread dried in the oven to make into rusks for them to chew on, leftover potatoes, vegetables and meat based gravy. Occasionally, they got scraps of meat fat and gristle whilst food was being prepared.

So many pets are being abandoned today when many could eat like this if necessary. Shelters are getting overwhelmed and many people simply turf them out or abandon them in woods to fend for themselves. Shameful.

We are giving to the food bank each week now, making sure we read online what they actually need. We have joined Age Concern lotto. Occasionally I will help animal shelters with food donation.

Money is tight for most people yet sometimes you wouldn't think so. People still seem to be coming out of shops with armful of carrier bags of clothes and other items. 

If DS and family request help, of any kind, we will offer it. It could be as a loan or an outright 'gift' of food or money.

All of us are finding money not going as far as it once did. Luckily they have always had a good work ethic and budgeting minds. They have always tried to save, but things are likely to get far worse for us all than they are currently. 

Better for everyone to face that reality than stick our heads in the sand. Keep stocking up if able!


14 comments:

  1. I’ve been prepping for decades so we’re all set. Well, as good as we can be. There’s only so much room. I’m not prepping for twenty years.
    So sad about the animals. We, too, give to the food bank when we can. Cash is also good as they can buy from the government for pennies on the dollar. It all feels like we’re on a slow sinking ship.
    Debbie

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    1. Our food banks, to my knowledge can’t do that. You are right about the sinking ship!

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  2. Not sure if I've mentioned this previously but we got a lab puppy back in April, he's now 9 months old. After swapping to various foods (dried) we've finally found one that he likes, however this left us with 5 almost full sacks of other dried dog foods (eg. dried chappie, Iams, etc). I rang round the local dog rescues to see if they accepted donations as the sacks are about 90% full. Surprisingly they can't accept opened food (I suppose they would never know if it'd been tampered with).. It seems such a waste - I'm looking into other ways of donating it at present.

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    1. Could you advertise on Facebook or something similar?

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    2. Advertising it on the Olio app in the Non-Food section would mean that someone who really needs it can come and pick it up from you.

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  3. Good advice! My son and DIL now live with me. No idea for how long but the cost of living is too much for them. I'm lucky I'm in a position to help them and others. But yes, stock up where you can!

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    1. Having been frugal for most of our marriage, it has helped us be able to help others.

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  4. Someone suggested at our coffee club this morning that we might each consider buying an Advent Calendar to give to the food bank, so that some of the 137 families they are currently supporting could have this Christmas treat. [her OH works at the FB] Your comment about checking what the foodbanks need is very wise- otherwise they get overwhelmed with cans of beans and packs of pasta

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    1. Our food bank is requesting Advent calendars to be delivered before November 11th if possible so they can hand them out in time.

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    2. Yes, I have already done this year's Advent calendar drop off into the Foodbank trolley in Aldi. I buy around 10 when they first come out and are on offer to donate alongside that weeks food. Although our Foodbank is literally across the road from the store so they pick up a few times each week, so I would have time to get some more this weekend.

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  5. I have also been purchasing items for our food bank. I think I will add food for the shelter as well. I hate to think of animals going hungry.

    Our sons know that if they need help food or cash wise, we are here for them. Since food is so expensive, I always try to have some meals ready for our youngest (his job does not pay as much as our eldest's does). When we visit the youngest for a few days I always try to bring the makings for at least one meal with us... Next time I better bring the makings for two as we had to stay a day longer then planned.

    Stocking up is ongoing here.

    God bless.

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    1. Same here, as something gets used, it is replaced.

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  6. Seeing all the adverts for credit cards, credit clubs and Christmas splurging is making me quite sad for young families this year. I remember the panic of not having enough for my boys and them seeing all this sort of advertising, and that was back in the 80's. I cannot begin to imagine the pressure on families these days with kids on social media etc.

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  7. Yes it is sad, but won’t do some of them any harm. DS had mainly clothes for Christmas plus a few small Lego toys. He was as happy as Larry.

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