The Schools of Woolton Hill pupils visit West Berks Foodbank after donating 246 meals at Harvest Festival

A village primary school donated 246 meals to West Berks Foodbank following its Harvest Festival collection last month.

As a show of thanks, the foodbank invited pupils from The Schools of Woolton Hill to have a tour around its facilities and learn more about what happens to the food donations and how they help people in the community.

Following the tour, nine-year-old Teddy Wilson said: “A kind lady named Rosie showed us around the foodbank and told us that our donations had produced seven boxes of food which totalled 246 meals.

“Rosie was so passionate about the charity and said that 80 per cent of donations came from supermarket drop offs, but churches and schools donate a lot as well.”

As a result of the visit, the school council decided to further support the foodbank by decorating Christmas bags for their festive food deliveries, organising another food donation in February, doing a write up for the charity’s social media page telling others about the pupils’ experience and educating more people about food poverty by designing posters and flyers.

Headteacher Paul Davies said: “It’s important for schools to support local charities and get pupils involved, however the real value is in showing children how their donations help in a tangible way that gets them engaged in fundraising.

“This is what will spark a passion for supporting charities and people in need, now and in the future.

“We were thrilled that West Berks Foodbank invited our pupils for a tour of the charity.

“It was extremely inspirational and now the school council team has made it their mission to continue to find new ways to help the food bank and residents in the local area.”