Reverse Advent Calendar

FujiLove

FujiLove

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Last week one of my friends posted a photo on Facebook of their children adding items to what they described as their 'reverse advent calendar'. Each day they are allowed to take an item of food out of the kitchen cupboard and add it to their cardboard box of goodies. On Christmas eve they will be delivering these boxes to their local food bank. I thought it was a great idea, so this year we are doing the same.

How about giving it a go instead of spending money on expensive advent calendars full of tasteless chocolate?! It's only the 7th, so there's plenty of time to catch up and help make Christmas a little easier for a family in need of some help. All you need is a cardboard box. Google your local food bank, ask them what they need (most have an online list - here's the one for my local food bank: http://www.gatehouse.org.uk/shopping-list/) and when you can drop it off.

A lot of food banks make up Christmas hampers at this time of year for people in need, so they are often looking for donations of 'treat' items such as Christmas cake, mince pies, wine etc. When you're planning that massive Christmas shop, how about adding a couple of items that you can donate instead of eating yourself? Come January, your waistline will thank you for it :D

Merry Christmas!
 
We've doing it in conjunction with York Food Bank this year - they posted a list of things they are in short supply of so that it's not just pasta and baked beans (toothbrushes, paste, mouthwash seems particularly necessary at the moment).

Both the university and our primary school are involved - both heartening and soul destroying at the same time somehow...
 
There was a guy from the US on the radio a week or two ago warning the UK not to go down the road of institutionalising food banks. In the US they have become an ingrained part of the social support network and companies like Walmart are now big supporters of them. BUT the same companies, like Walmart don’t, pay their staff a living wage so the staff are forced to use the food banks. It would be much better if people were paid proper wages and we had a proper social security safety net. We do like to think of ourselves as a first world country after all.

I do realise that people are in need now but at least as much time/effort/money should be going into lobbying the government for better economic circumstances rather than letting the government off the hook by propping up food banks
 
Quoth said:
both heartening and soul destroying at the same time somehow...
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I know what you mean, but I suppose it's often the case when you get involved with any sort of charitable work.
 
sirch said:
There was a guy from the US on the radio a week or two ago warning the UK not to go down the road of institutionalising food banks. In the US they have become an ingrained part of the social support network and companies like Walmart are now big supporters of them. BUT the same companies, like Walmart don’t, pay their staff a living wage so the staff are forced to use the food banks. It would be much better if people were paid proper wages and we had a proper social security safety net. We do like to think of ourselves as a first world country after all.

I do realise that people are in need now but at least as much time/effort/money should be going into lobbying the government for better economic circumstances rather than letting the government off the hook by propping up food banks
Click to expand...

I agree 100%. But we are where we are, so until we have a government that cares enough about these issues (i.e. an electorate vocal and savvy enough to force them to care), we're stuck with supporting people in need.

The issue of business being subsidised by the tax credit system drives me crazy.
 
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