Seaford College is asking parents and students to donate varied and tasty groceries with the aim of creating up to 200 food parcels for hungry children in our community this winter.
The Seaford Foodbank Christmas Lunchbox Appeal was launched this week when Sarah Adams, Process Manager at Chichester Foodbank, addressed the Prep School Chapel Assembly, saying that need is increasing in the UK.
She explained that this winter was likely to be very tough following the reduction in universal credit, the end of furlough schemes and the increase in fuel costs. For many parents this winter it will be a choice between heating their home or feeding their families, she added.
“There are many people in crisis, and it’s not just the homeless that need help, but those with low incomes too,” she said. “The pandemic has had a huge impact. Before the lockdown Chichester Foodbank were feeding 3,400 a year. In 2020, that went up to over 5,000, and we’ve already surpassed that figure this year.”
Lara Stitt, Chair of Charity Committee, praised students for their support over the past two years and said that instead of simply donating any food to the Foodbank as in previous years, Seaford would this time create the boxes individually itself.
Sarah Adams urged students to think about the variety of food that a child needs and what would be tasty when choosing what to donate. She showed the assembly a trolley of varied and suitable groceries that amounted to about two weeks’ worth of food for one child.
The plan is to collect donations of this type over the next few weeks and put the boxes together on Saturday 27 November. “You could make a child’s day when they open the box and see the variety of food that you’ve chosen for them,” said Lara. (See below for a list of suitable donations.)
Sarah Adams also praised the footballer Marcus Rashford for raising awareness of food poverty during the pandemic. “He has done a phenomenal job and now everyone knows how bad the situation is in this country,” she said. There are many children who will not have eaten between lunchtime yesterday and lunchtime today, she said, and that their only hot meals would be eaten in school. “So in the holidays these children might not have much to eat and he has really pushed the issue with the government to provide lunch boxes when children are not in school,” she added.
Seaford’s Father Colin Datchler also told the assembly that the Appeal is part of creating a more just society and that students can do their bit.
Suitable donations to the Seaford Foodbank Christmas Lunchbox Appeal:
Cereals – 500g (approx.)
Milk – 1 Litre
Pasta Sauce – 350g
Jams and spreads
Tinned Soup (variety)
Tinned Tomatoes
Tinned Baked Beans
Tinned Meat (variety)
Tinned Vegetables (as varied as possible)
Tinned Custard or Rice Pudding
Tinned Fruit
Tinned Fish – Tuna/Salmon/Pilchard/Sardines
Pasta – 1KG bag (or x2 500g)
Biscuits
Small treats – each box is allowed three only (any confectionary)
