When I saw the picture of the lady in the Gazette (April 2) holding a placard saying, “why do we have food banks in a rich country?” I thought of another question I would like to ask her, and this is “how does she think that my parents always had good food when I was a child over 60 years ago when the only money coming into the house was my father’s wage as a farm labourer?”

My parents never received a penny in benefits all their lives. There was not even child benefit for an only child then.

I think the reason we had good food is because my parents got their priorities right. Food and household bills came first, and if there was any money left over, which wasn’t very often, they bought anything else they needed. But they never had a holiday in their lives, and I didn’t go away on holiday until after I was married. Now if children haven’t been abroad before they are walking they are thought to be underprivileged.

I am sure that there would not be the need for food banks if the money that people received was used wisely. Fruit and vegetables can be bought cheaply enough in the market, but would some of the young people know what to do with them, or even be bothered?

CAROL BURGESS Hodge Close Devizes