Children's backing for Doncaster Free Press foodbank campaign

These  primary school youngsters are among the latest to stand up to help the Free Press Doncaster Foodbank campaign.
Shaw Wood Academy in Armthorpe donated food to Doncaster Foodbank after its harvest festival.Shaw Wood Academy in Armthorpe donated food to Doncaster Foodbank after its harvest festival.
Shaw Wood Academy in Armthorpe donated food to Doncaster Foodbank after its harvest festival.

Children from Shaw Wood Academy in Armthorpe generously brought in food for the school's harvest festival as part of their lessons.

And when it came to deciding what to do with the food they had gathered, they got in touch with Doncaster Food Bank, based at Christ Church Doncaster, for them to distribute it among needy families.

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We launched our campaign last this month to call on residents and businesses to help the borough's foodbanks by making donations of food, or to offer up premises to be used as collection points.

The campaign is running because of concerns from both the food banks themselves and from Citizens Advice Doncaster Borough, an organisation which issues food bank vouchers, that there will be a major surge in demand for foodbanks while the new Universal Credit benefit is being rolled out across the whole of Doncaster.

Staff from the foodbank visited the school, on Mere Lane, Armthorpe, to collect the food and thank the pupils.

Doncaster's civic mayor, George Derx, also visited to school for the Harvest Festival Assembly, and the Rev Jan Foden from St Leonards Church, Armthorpe, visited to bless the food.

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Ann Wood, a year four teacher at the school, said: "All the food went to Doncaster food bank which was able to feed over 450 families. It was alll donated by our school family community.

"We are incredibly proud of the can have shared so much with in the community - the children really believe in sharing and we think that's really important.

"They were really proud. We definitely support the Free Press' campaign and so do the pupils who have taken part in this - they are really helpful youngsters who want to help people.W

Donations to Doncaster Foodbank can be dropped off at Tesco Extra at Woodfield Plantation, Woodfield Way, Balby, where there is a permanent collection point at the front of store near the exit. Mexborough has collection points at Mexborough LIbrary at the Children's Hub.

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Most urgently needed food items include tinned fruit, long life fruit juice, tinned rice pudding, tinned meat, pasta sauce and rice. Doncaster Foodbank also takes non-food items such as toiletries, cleaning and sanitary products. All items should be unopened, in date and in good condition.

Donated food can be delivered to Christ Church any Tuesday or Thursday between 9am and midday. Contact them at [email protected].