During harvest, we were blessed to have received many donations to our *A2C food bank with our biggest collection coming from one of our local schools, Reigate Primary School. We feel blessed to work with a school who has a Junior Leadership team (pupils who take a leadership role in bringing about social justice) and through their encouragement, more pupils get involved.
In December, we received another donation through the ‘reverse advent calendar’ scheme (where we ask people to donate one thing each day. There are 24 core items, so each day is a request for a specific item). On this occasion, the Junior Leadership team were invited to get involved by coming in and helping pack the Christmas food parcels. That way, the team can see exactly how the food is distributed and have the chance to have a more practical role, which we value.
We are excited by a new project with the Junior Leadership team and are offering dementia awareness training, so that the team can support us with our memory café by serving lunches and engaging with older people.
Working with Reigate School is such a pleasure due to their aims and ambitions to bring about social justice in our part of Derby.
*Currently, A2C food bank supplies about 20 food parcels a week, supported by several volunteers, responsible for receiving items, managing the storeroom and making and distributing parcels.
During her time at Derby A2C, CRCW Vicky Longbone has been involved with several projects and initiatives, such as the School Holiday Food Project, which has enabled families to access food and activities that would otherwise not be available. The project aims to support low-income families, including those who have been made redundant through factory closures and redundancy, to work with other organisations to enable collaborative work and to create spaces for people with similar needs so they can socialise and work together to develop their own situations.