As the coronavirus pandemic takes hold across the country, we are launching a new appeal to ensure that no child goes hungry.
The Spalding and South Holland Voice has teamed up with South Holland district councillor Harry Drury to launch Donate A Dinner.
The appeal aims to make sure that those children who would usually get a daily free school meal don’t go hungry.
Coun Drury came up with the idea following the success of his Give A Gift appeal, which helps to make sure less fortunate children across the district have a present to open on Christmas morning.
He said: “With schools currently closed I was concerned that there could be a lot of children out there whose families rely on free school meals.
“When money is already tight for some people, extra costs such as this can make all the difference.
“I wanted to do something to help and decided to team up with The Voice to launch Donate A Dinner to ease the pressure on these families during such unprecedented times.”
Rachel Mayfield, editor of the Spalding and South Holland Voice, said: “We work with Coun Drury on Give A Gift every year and are always overwhelmed by the generosity shown by our readers, so when he approached me and asked if we’d support Donate A Dinner I didn’t hesitate to say yes.”
We’d be delighted if you would like to get behind our appeal and are asking for donations of basic storecupboard essentials such as pasta, rice, tinned beans and soup, bread and packet sauces for those most in need.
Spalding’s Sainsbury’s store has kindly agreed to be the collection point for items and special thanks got to Pete Boekestyn, production manager at Spalding’s Welland Print, for printing the posters free of charge.
From there Coun Drury will ensure they are distributed to those most in need across South Holland.
The appeal will run indefinitely while the coronavirus pandemic is ongoing.