photo BBC News
Okay, I know nothing! I feel like a total fool. Here I am, with a blog about being Dutch in America, writing every now and then about how much better things are in the Netherlands, and now it turns out this has been going on for the last three years!!! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, food banks. IN THE NETHERLANDS! I am shocked to my core, and no, I’m not being sarcastic. I really am crushed. I never thought anything like that would ever happen in the Netherlands. Ever. And I have been writing that it never will, and all the while it was happening.
I feel like stopping this blog immediately, because clearly I have no clue what I’m writing about. But then again, I did say that I’d also be writing about my changing relationship with the Netherlands, which is bound to happen after being gone for eighteen years.
Well, is this ever a good example!
It also tells me that I either should really try and keep up with Dutch news, or shut up about Dutch politics and the wonderful safety net. Although it is still better…
Resident Alien -- Being Dutch in America 
Actually it has been going on for a bit longer already, sorry to say
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So I was even more wrong!
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It just goes to show how hard this lousy economy is on everyone. I’m sorry to read that what once wasn’t needed is now a necessity for some.
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Yeah, when even the Dutch have food banks, it’s really, really bad.
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I have to join your line of “I had NO idea!”
Just checked it and it appeared that there have been foodbanks for 10 years already.
Seeing that I only ‘left’ in 2005, that is 7 years ago, they had them for 3 years already and I never knew about them even when living in Amsterdam! 😮 Now talking about feeling bad….
I always thought (AND was proud of the fact) that the Dutch were taken care off ‘from the crib to the grave’ but it seems that is not entirely true. I wonder what the cause is, since every Dutch citizen is entitled to a minimum income, even with an ‘uitkering’ like unemployment or disability, and that is calculated to the cost of living?
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Yes, they do still have the uitkering, but it apparently has gone down to a point that it’s no longer enough for many people.”Amerikaanse toestanden” – American scenarios – really aren’t that distant anymore. It’s sad!
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