Harvest festival - asked to bring money instead of tins etc

flowrypot

When I was a little girl 50 odd years ago , all the food and tins collected were made into little hampers and went to the local old people, some of the children would go and help deliver them. When my children were at school they would have to nominate suitable people, so bemused 55 year olds on the local estate were sometimes recipients.

Newly_retired

It's risky to generalise, but the most hard up nowadays are not older people, unless they are not claiming all the benefits they are entitled to.
It is people who are waiting for benefits to kick in, or who have been sanctioned for often ridiculous reasons, or the very low paid.
Benefits for older people are far more geneous and not at risk of sanctions.
Certainly the idea of a harvest of our talents, as evidenced for example by our income, and the need to share generously, was the theme of our harvest sermons last week.

Spendless

Doesn't surprise me, when mine were doing Harvest Festivals, we were asking to send in donations of food either fruit and veg or dried/tinned. Then they used to sell it to the parents at the end of the day and send the money off.

I think the first year I fell for both donating food and buying it! After that I'd do one or the other.

Thankfully mine are now both at Secondary school and this sort of nonsense stops.

itzmee

My son's primary school did this a couple of years ago asking for a tin with some silver/pound coin taped to it. The idea was that the tins would go to the local food bank and the coins would go towards buying a goat/chickens for poor people in Africa.

meritaten

when we did harvest festival at my school we had sheaves of corn and loaves of bread and they were 'symbolic'.
my kids schools did the 'Baked goods' and reluctantly accepted 'tins' to distribute to the OAPs in the complex next to them.
so money is now being asked for? to donate to what? Age Concern? Oxfam? Harvest festival is now just another 'charidee'!

pickledonionspaceraider

Cor, things have changed since my mam used to send me in with the remenants of the year before's xmas hamper.. pilchards and picallili

coolcait

I don't recall ever having 'harvest festival' at school - either in my own schooldays, or during my children's time at school.


It would be interesting to know if that's the general experience of other Scottish posters, or if my local area is out of step!


Our schools do have at least one time each year where pupils are asked to bring in two items of non-perishable foodstuffs - usually in exchange for a non-uniform day. The foodstuffs used to get put into hampers and distributed amongst 'those in need'. Nowadays, it generally goes to the local foodbank.


The schools also have a couple of non-uniform days where each pupil brings in £1 for the privilege of not wearing uniform. All of those £££s go to one charity or another.


Maybe it's because the 'harvest festival' tradition hasn't been part of my school or family history, but those options seem perfectly sensible to me.

Becles

Our primary school used to do fresh produce but then found out that the local soup kitchen get inundated with fresh produce at this time of the year. They asked what they needed most and they asked if school could ask for donations of things to make hot drinks with as they would keep them going through the winter months. They've done this since and I don't mind donating knowing that the goods are going to be put to good use.

S_Wales_Saver

DGDs' primary school have asked for tins ( list of suggestions provided)

However they tell me they can wear what they like on that day - which usually means a £1 donation.

The penny and the bun?

Newly_retired

Just back from grandchildren's school harvest. It is a C of E school so was largely taken by the local vicar, but input from the Head and all classes. Gifts requested and displayed were tins, packets and toiletries, to go to local hospice or homeless centre.

Theme of harvest was linked with theme of wAter and what we need it for, and each class had prepared posters or poems, pictures and captions etc. Linked into Water Aid and promoted collecting pennies in a bottle every time you use water. With £5 a tap can be provided.. Focus was on Ethiopia.
Excellent in every respect.