As a regular volunteer for the Isle of Man Foodbank, I think it is important to ensure that any Foodbank clients do not think that I represent the organisation in a political capacity. There is no nexus between who anyone supports politically and who receives support from the Foodbank.
As a result, I have instituted a simple protocol for maintaining the separation of my role as an Isle of Man Foodbank volunteer and my role as a candidate for Tynwald: I will not proactively visit as a candidate any person that I know to be a Foodbank client on the same day that I am volunteering for the Isle of Man Foodbank.
So, for example, if I volunteer for the Foodbank on Thursday, then while I’m volunteering, I won’t display any campaigning material on my vehicle or associate that with me dropping food parcels off. Similarly, while I might canvass food bank recipients on other days (just in the ordinary course of events) I won’t do that on the same day that I am dropping off food parcels.
Some fellow volunteers asked whether I would continue to volunteer for the Isle of Man Food Bank if I was elected to Tynwald – I expect that I would continue to do so.