Harvest festival - asked to bring money instead of tins etc

onlyroz

Our school asks for food, and for volunteers to help deliver hampers to the local elderly. We are also asked to nominate people we think might have need of a hamper.

clark24

My son is in P2 and we were asked to send him in with tins for the local foodbank. When I was in primary school (in the 80's) we were always asked for donations for the starving children in Africa, now it's for the starving children in the UK. So much for progress! How bad do things need to get before people start to send us aid?

[Deleted User]

My children have just had their Harvest Festival Assembly this morning, it was lovely and full of singing voices. The school hall was rammed to the rafters. Each class did an individual performance with the whole school singing in between. The school choir did a performance at the end.

In terms of bringing food to the Harvest Table, we've only ever been asked to bring in long life food, dry goods, packets, tins etc. They used to go to a children's hospice, but it shut down, so this is the second year our offerings have gone to the local foodbank. However to open the assembly, 2 children represent each year and a song is sung where is each pair take a different piece of fresh fruit/veg to the Harvest Table.

SavingPennies_2

Actually I don't see the problem, many people send packets and tins that have been lurking at the back of thier cupboards, may be out of date, impractical/ unhealthy, and generally things they don't want. So they arent really going to that useful to the charity or they people they are being given too. By giving money, the charity can only buy the things they know from their experience are useful/wanted, so nothing is wasted, in theory anyway. Also some parents might find it easier to hand over a few pound rather than dig out/buy food.

SavingPennies_2

Maysie wrote: »

I think its become more popular in recent years. I hate it and never gave anything at all last year. Stuff the school and their kudos for how much they raised. The year they did the homeless charity that provides meals they wanted money but i sent in a huge catering bag of yorkshire pudding mix from 99p store I was not the only one to send food either as they displayed it all.

When i was at school we collected food and gave little hampers to local elderly folk. I would prefer they do this again.[/QUOTE]

I think many elderly folk would be quite put out at the thought of someone giving them a basket of food; at least with a homeless charity the people involved actually need it. I think it's lovely to have children singing and invite local people along (which is also what we did at school), but handing them food just cos they are old seems a little patronising.

InsideInsurance

I know the last time I was involved with one of these, and that was a fair time ago, most the parents ignored the list of suggested items and they ended up with two dozen jars of homemade piccalilli and few pear and ale chutney etc which undoubtedly were probably very good it wasnt really what the local soup kitchen really needed. I believe they asked for cash donations the following year too

MadDogWoman_2

A couple of years ago my church asked for money, it was announced in advance that all monies raised would be going to a charity that provides practical items in Africa, i.e. animals.

However, since a local food band was set up we collect items off their list of preferred items. The same goes for my DD's school which also a faith school.

We've had Harvest at church, school are having it the Friday they close for half term, this was to allow time for the new Reception children to settle in.

bizzybee

My son's secondary school asked for tins and non-perishables (except pasta for some reason) this year. They have a week to bring things in which is why they don't want perishables.

On Monday he's helping to deliver it all to a nearby Trussell Trust foodbank. Apparently there aren't enough needy, elderly people in the local area!

BargainJunky

My youngest son is 5 and as yet his school have not mentioned harvest festival this year.

In the past they collected tins etc and took them to the old people's bungalows and a sheltered housing complex. I always filled the lid of a photocopier box with a meal for two - tinned potatoes, peas, carrotts, meat pie, some sort of long life pudding and a tin of custard as that was the closest I could get to what I used to do as a child.

Last year they sent home a picture of fruit in a basket and asked us to get sponsors for each piece of fruit and they were donating the money to some totally inappropriate charity - the picture went straight in the recycling bin as to me it was nothing to do with the harvest.

My older son is in Juniors and they have asked for dontations of tins and non perishable goods. I will send something in but I am a little disappointed that yet again all donations are going to a mother and baby unit at a local housing association - I'm sure the babies will be thrilled to bits with all the tinned soups, beans etc that I saw on the donations table in school today.

gayleygoo

Any time I've been asked to bring in food (from when I was in school, and my children being in primary school now), the request was for a few tins or packets. My own primary school asked for good quality items that would be made into decent hampers for local elderly people, who did seem to appreciate them - they weren't just food bank standard, they had bags of sugar, boxes of chocolates, Christmas puddings and cakes, biscuits, tinned fruit and other things to cheer up what might have been a Christmas without any luxuries.

DD's school last year collected the food for a local charity that handed the hampers out to those in need in the local community (I think recipients would be nominated by others.)

The problem with asking for money is that many parents who might have sent in £1-£2 worth of food (it was all that was really expected unless you chose to send in a huge bag of stuff) might feel expected to hand over more actual money - say £5-£10 per child or more. I guess the charities can do more specific help with the money but it seems to be less of a compassionate experience for the children - giving food is an important lesson, giving money is perhaps less obvious of one, iykwim!

Although the above refers to Christmas collections in school - harvest collections were something done in Sunday school or church.