A cosmetic to cover up the reality of people in need

Published: August 4, 2011

AS a former user of the Food For All service myself, I found the location on York Way to have a semblance of privacy.

It is a natural lay-by along the wall of King’s Cross station, and there is always an opening of 10 to 20 metres at any given time for the meals van to promptly distribute meals. You could always sit on the kerb to eat the meal or find some nearby stoop. Is it this act of eating outdoors to be deemed so offensive?

Who are these people that complain about this service on York Way? For it is non-residential between Lincoln’s Lounge and the Premiere Inn, and consists of dance studios, and a business consortium in Regent Quarter. Are we to believe that people in transit are traumatised by the spectre of hunger, and that it should be contained behind closed doors and far off places?

Camden Town Hall says they have found quiet locations nearby. But each street east of York Way is densely residential and by the same rationale would cause civil unrest. It also falls under the jurisdiction of Islington Council as York Way is coterminous.

A Hare Krishna volunteer I spoke to said “Every where we went [in and around King’s Cross] the parking wardens arrived in five minutes”.

Or is it in collusion with Argent developers to evict any exhibit of penury from the area, as it’s in both parties’ interest to attract new property tax from real estate investors?

Malnutrition hastens the demise of the alcoholic and addict. When everything else is in chaos, a benevolent meal can be a spiritual balm.

The reliability and proximity of Food For All is paramount as an extra mile to walk to a drop-off can be the difference of not eating at all that day.

It is a comfort for many who live in King’s Cross when mental health issues prevail, or for those victims of the downturn, or those trying to supplement a meagre pension, that this charity is just a few streets away.

Between pernicious parking wardens and Camden Council’s incapacity for discretion, Food For All’s spirituality will be tested.

And with addiction and its consequences so prevalent in the media, it is astounding that Camden Council attacks sustenance and convenience in order to propagate an affluent veneer for King’s Cross.
Name and address supplied, NW1