During September and October at North Enfield Foodbank we have been taking part in food collections across Enfield at local schools, in celebration of Harvest Festival. Over this period 11 tonnes of food was collected, which will help to provide 9,989 meals for people in Enfield over the next few months.
A total of 47 schools took part in the annual celebration, where the North Enfield Foodbank team were able to attend assemblies as part of the festivities. We enjoyed listening to the children singing lots of songs about the festival, which included the ‘Harvest Samba’ – a song that encourages the children to be thankful for the food they have.
The assemblies focused on reinforcing the core values of Harvest Festival, encouraging children to be generous and enjoy giving both to their community as well as to those who are less fortunate – helping them to think of others. During Harvest, the children were also encouraged to think about the labour that goes into the food we eat today helping them to appreciate the work that has to go into the provision of food.
The North Enfield Foodbank team were invited to speak during these assemblies to talk about how the Foodbank works and to help give the children an insight into how their collection would touch the lives of many who are experiencing hardship. The kids were very receptive whilst taking part in the assemblies and seemed to genuinely enjoy giving the food especially when they were able to see just how much food they had managed to collect.
The Foodbank Manager of North Enfield, who took part in many of these assemblies said “Harvest Festival is a wonderful time as you feel such a sense of community, it is wonderful to see our younger generation concerned for the welfare of others. I have been blown away by the generosity from students, staff and parents and know that the food donated will go a long way to helping people take the first steps out of food poverty”
Alastair Cook, Head of Lower School at Enfield Grammar said “It was an absolute pleasure to welcome North Enfield Foodbank to our assembly, and I am proud of the contribution and difference that our boys have made. In total our boys presented 160.5kg of food to be distributed to those people in Enfield who are less fortunate than themselves. We look forward to further charitable giving throughout the year and to welcoming a representative from the Foodbank next year.”
If you would like to donate or volunteer at the Foodbank please email Christina at [email protected]
