Last weekend we held a big food collection at Sainsbury’s Whitechapel and the generosity we saw from the customers was simply amazing!
We were collecting food for our LOVE Summer scheme through which we provide food support to families in Tower Hamlets who receive Free School Meals during term time, and may find the long stretch of summer difficult to manage. Read our previous blog to find out more.
“To see the outpouring of generosity and kindness in Tower Hamlets was incredible. It was great to see people give knowing that their donation was going straight to those who need it most” Debbie – Enabling Lives Project Manager, First Love Foundation
During the weekend, people frequently gave us bags of food and only bought a couple of items for themselves. In spite of the challenges in the community, people still gave whatever they could.
As a team, we are always interested to find out why people choose to donate. So we asked people at the collection, “Why did you donate today?” Here are just some of the wonderful replies we got…
“For the community… It’s nice to help out people who are less fortunate than us”
“There was a time in my life when I was hungry”
“I was inspired by Jo Cox’s sense of humanity”
“I can imagine being in a situation when I needed the help to feed my children. So that’s why I wanted to give today towards the great work you do”
“I work in a school kitchen and know some of the kids will go hungry during the holidays when I’m not feeding them. So it’s a way of giving back”
“I know what it’s like to go without”
“After Thursday’s vote we need a bit more kindness for each other”
“I’m fasting for Ramadan so know what it’s like to be hungry”
“I’ve used your foodbank before, you helped me out so I wanted to give back and donate some stuff”
So, after a great deal of weighing, counting and sorting, we can now reveal the grand total…
Sainsbury’s Whitechapel customers donated 1,971.4kg which equals 3,943 meals for 394 people! This is the most we have ever received from a supermarket collection before! And in addition, we also raised £152.88 in cash donations.
Whether you were one of our volunteers, the welcoming Sainsbury’s staff and particularly, if you were able to donate food or money, thank you so much from everyone here at First Love Foundation. Your amazing contributions are fighting hidden hunger in Tower Hamlets and supporting more people as they look towards a hopeful future.
But, our job is not finished and there is still so much more that needs to be done. If you are inspired by one of the answers above, it’s not too late to get involved. You can feed a family in Tower Hamlets by making a donation of food or donate money towards our LOVE Summer weekly activities & events.
Click here to see the latest list of our most needed items. If you are able to organisation a collection in your community or workplace give us a call on 020 3069 9877 or email info@firstlovefoundation.org.uk for more information and to get some posters to help with your collection. We also have a permanent collection box near the tills in the Sainsbury’s Whitechapel where donations of food can be left all year round. Please ask a member of Sainsbury’s staff for more details.
And keep a lookout as we will be holding another supermarket collection soon for LOVE Summer and we may be coming to a store near you…
To see more photos from the weekend, head over to our Twitter feed or Facebook page.