Derbyshire schoolchildren hope foodbank drive for less fortunate will be roaring success

Youngsters at Watchorn Christian School in Alfreton are challenging themselves to think of others in their community by gathering food for Trussell Trust foodbanks within the vicinity of their school.

They began their foodbank drive in early October to coincide with the end Harvest – the annual thanksgiving celebration of the harvest and food grown on the land in the UK – and have collected around 130kg of food so far, the same weight as a mountain goat.

It means they are over half way to reaching their goal of 170kg in donations, something which they hope to achieve by Christmas as it is the same weight as a lion, their school mascot who goes by the name of Judah.

School governor Jocelyn Payandeh said: “The pupils have really got behind the project, remembering to buy things for others when they go shopping with their parents.

"We just thought that children can get a preoccupied with what they’re going to get at Christmas and the present they’ll receive.

"We really wanted to instill the giving aspect of that because that’s what Christmas is all about, about giving as well as receiving presents.

"So we came up with this project to collect as much as possible for the foodbanks and to include the children to get them to understand and motivate them through collecting the weight of animals.”

Ms Payandeh said staff at Watchorn Christian School have been making weekly trips to drop off their donations at the South Normanton area foodbank at St Michael and All Angels Church for redistribution.

She added: “Obviously we’ve been through a lot during lockdown and it just seems crazy that we have to feed people in England and I think it’s just a nice idea for the children to think about others.”

The project will culminate with a Christmas carol service at Watchorn Christian School on Tuesday, December 21, during which the total weight of all food received will be revealed and the pupils will discover if they have met their donation goal.

Support your Derbyshire Times by becoming a digital subscriber. You will see 70 per cent fewer ads on stories, meaning faster load times and an overall enhanced user experience. Click here to subscribe.