THE insinuation in Paul Brownsey's letter (December 19) that food banks may deny clients much-needed food because of their sexual orientation is highly offensive and suggests a rather disconcerting lack of knowledge.
A visit to the Trussell Trust website would have given Mr Brownsey the assurance that food banks which work under that banner have the following commitment:
"Whilst we are a Christian organisation, we serve people of all faith groups and beliefs or none. We are passionate about inclusion and being non-judgmental is central to what we do. We believe that everyone has the right to have food on their plate, dignity, skills, a chance to work and hope for the future."
The Christian food banks operating independently of the Trussell Trust also operate with the Christian mandate that nobody should go hungry. Anything else would attract the condemnation of the Christian community itself, never mind the general public.
Mr Brownsey appears to be under the illusion that local and national governments are making available vast sums of money for the running of food banks.
In fact, it is church communities, local businesses, individuals and charitable trusts who make sure that food banks are financially viable. The occasional local authority grant is a welcome addition but is negligible in the overall budget.
If there is indeed such distrust of Christian communities then maybe secular or humanist organisations would want to consider setting up food banks themselves.
Also, unless Mr Brownsey's local branch of the Salvation Army is very different to other such charitable ventures, they are probably overwhelmed with sorting and distributing of food.
Rather than sending impersonal letters, what about speaking to his local branch directly and thereby discovering the generosity, commitment and courage of members of the Salvation Army? Even better, why not offer to assist them with such matters as administration and the writing of letters?
Lastly, an appeal for donations for Christmas is not the same as receiving public (government) funding. Members of the public are perfectly free to respond to such appeals. Or not. It is then the charity's obligation to disburse such donations within the framework under which the appeal was made.
Rev Dr Lindsay Schluter,
Trinity Manse,
13 Machan Avenue,
Larkhall.
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