A point I make to teams I work with is that what we do affects real people. It doesn’t matter whether that person is buying a Christmas present1, reporting workplace negligence2, or making sure they and their kids don’t go hungry3, making that experience easier or harder has an impact.
The reason for this reminder is that we4 often abstract ‘People who use our products’ in to the much easier and less clunky term ‘users’. And yes, while this is done for reasons of convenience rather than anything nefarious, it can still lead to us forgetting that there is a real person at the sharp end of the decisions we make.
In turn, this impact is regularly referred to in other terms, such as ‘pain point’ or ‘nudge’5. Again, while done with no negative intent, this can further separate ‘us’ and ‘them’. After a while, ‘them’ almost become ‘things’ we act as if we have dominion over.
At this stage, it becomes very easy to believe your assumptions are actually facts. Assumptions in and of themselves are not objectively good, or bad, but they do need validating. It’s a very helpful shortcut to jump over validation, especially if you already – sincerely – believe you know the result.6 It’s exactly here where our biases can wreak havoc, and do serious damage.
You may know that I’ve been involved with Gateshead Foodbank since 2018 in various roles, and/or that for the last 18 months or so I’ve been spending a lot more time there as part of a career break.7 A year ago, I was invited on to the Board of Trustees, with a focus on Data/IT, and to support efforts in reshaping the charity so that we can continue to support those who need us, for as long as we are needed.
Since being founded in 2012, we’ve fed over 100k people. While the vast majority are in receipt of Universal Credit, that doesn’t mean they are out of work. A good chunk of the people we feed live in households where one or more adults are working, but their wages still need to be topped up by UC.8
We provide a week’s worth of food, per person, plus toiletries, and our typical visit rate is ~1.5 times. That means that over 80% of people we feed only need to visit us once or twice. We work closely with Citizen’s Advice to identify and solve underlying financial issues people may be facing; the most common cause being that they are not receiving benefits which they are entitled to. I have enough fingers to count those who have needed us more than ten times.
About one third of the people we feed are children.
Of the families we feed, 60% of them have three or more children, and whatever assumptive rhetoric people may wish to throw at adults, these kids have no choice, no power, and no agency.
They are going hungry because of the decisions made by others.
Trussell9 have done extensive research to uncover the main causes of people using foodbanks, and say the following:
The design and delivery of the social security system remained the most significant driver of low income for people referred to food banks. The vast majority (87%) were in receipt of a means-tested social security payment, including three quarters of people (75%) in receipt of Universal Credit. In the general population fewer than one in 10 people (9%) were in receipt of Universal Credit.
—Trussell – Hunger in the UK, September 2025, p.76
In my professional life, this sort of research result would be clear-cut – this process causes problems, and we need to fix them. No amount of “the user’s an idiot and is doing it wrong!” can hand wave away 87%. When I talk about systemic issues, this is the sort of thing I mean.
The correlation between the two-child limit, and the demographic of people relying on us, is strong and clear. I hope that it goes without saying that a family of five requires more food, more soap, and more loo roll, than a family of three. It should be a profound embarrassment to the country that this continued for eight long years after George Osborne made the decision to enact the limit on the users of benefits.
In the budget last week, it was announced that the two-child limit will be removed in April 2026. During the announcement, I was at the foodbank giving food to people who needed it. When we found out, the relief in the air was palpable. A few people cried.
It is projected that 450,000 kids will be lifted out of poverty through this choice, and will stop going hungry through no fault of their own.
There are always choices which can be made. Some good, some bad. Some outcomes can be foreseen, others cannot. Sometimes there are compounding factors and emergent behaviours, or there aren’t, and it’s pretty straight forward. Maybe the impact is so tiny no one notices, or so large that it feels trite to describe.
If the result of your choice is not what you intended, you can choose to change it.
Fingers crossed, we see double-digit reductions in people visiting the foodbank, and the kids of Gateshead stop going hungry due to the decisions of others. It also reminds me that…
[E]conomic injustice will stop the moment we want it to stop, and no sooner
–George Orwell – The Road to Wigan Pier, 1937, p.139
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While not the purpose of this post, if it has given you pause for thought, please set up a regular cash donation to your local foodbank. Cash is best because we can use it to pay for fuel, leccy, and buying in items we don’t get enough of.10 While need hopefully reduces with the removal of the two-child limit, we’re a long away from that celebratory day that we’re no longer needed and can close.
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- Fruugo (2022-2024) ↩︎
- Safecall (2018-2021) ↩︎
- Gateshead Foodbank (2018-Present) ↩︎
- read: software people ↩︎
- The latter I particularly enjoy, as it just reminds me of that Monty Python sketch; know what I mean? ↩︎
- Or, if you really don’t want to be proven wrong ↩︎
- The TL;DR being that I wanted to do something more visibly and immediately rewarding – and stopping people from going hungry is very immediate indeed. ↩︎
- That is to say, their employer does not give them enough hours and/or pay to feed themselves ↩︎
- fka ‘The Trussell Trust’ ↩︎
- There is always enough pasta – and beans. There are never enough sanitary products, or pet food, or cereals. ↩︎