Rutland Foodbank Receives Nearly £1,000 Worth of Food from Oakham School Pupils

Following a long established partnership, Rutland Foodbank has received a donation of nearly £1,000 worth of food from pupils at Oakham School following a receipt challenge which will help provide essential items to families in the area.

Children in the Lower School, aged between 10 and 13, were tasked with sourcing and choosing items that would benefit people using the foodbank.

The items non-perishables that the pupils bought with the help of their parents. They submitted their essentials to Rutland Foodbank during the School’s Lower School Family Harvest Service.

 

Aims

The aim is to teach pupils the importance of giving, but not just through monetary donations - the aim of this activity was to get the pupils to really consider what essentials people may need. 

The identified need was a number of non-perishable items and tinned goods which, at the time, were in short supply at the foodbank.

The critical factors of success were to provide Rutland Foodbank with good, usable items which they could provide to those who need them.

Whilst the foodbank and wider community will benefit from this, the pupils were also able to learn a lot and took away a valuable lesson in charitable giving. 

Background

This has been a long established partnership with the foodbank and the School and is part of Oakham's commitment to teaching pupils about giving. Rutland Foodbank is well-admired in the area for its fantastic work, so it was very important to the School to support the cause. 

Resources

Teaching staff and the School's Chaplain helped to arrange the donation with parents and pupils and the money was donated directly from the families. The School Chapel was used to host the Lower School Family Harvest Festival, in which foodbank representatives were invited to.

Impact

The impact of this donation will go towards helping a number of local families in Rutland who need to use the foodbank. 

Pupil Involvement

The pupils are 10 to 13, which is part of Oakham's Lower School. As a co-educational school both boys and girls were involved in the fundraising project and each pupil was responsible for sourcing and choosing their own items to be donated. 

Frequency

The event is an annual fundraising activity which is part of the School's Harvest Festival.