Dean Simon Robinson: A Reverse Advent Calendar this Advent season?
Did you know that from April 2022 to March 2023 some 36,000 emergency food parcels were distributed by Trussell Trust Foodbanks in Cornwall alone, over 12,000 of those were for children under the age of 16? Food insecurity is the reality for so many people in Cornwall, a third of the food parcels distributed were for children. This is a very serious situation indeed. We can all do something practical about this to help make a difference.
In my Advent message, this year, I mentioned the ‘Reverse Advent Calendar.’ This is a great way to help those who will not have enough food at Christmas (and at other times of the year). The concept is simple - it is something that you can do on your own, with family or friends or with colleagues at work. Find a box and over the days of Advent put an item of food or hygiene into the box in readiness to donate it to your local foodbank. The Trussell Trust have a helpful graphic about the Reverse Advent Calendar (which you can see below). They also provide information about why supporting foodbanks is so necessary.
The need for support from foodbanks is increasing, this is very troubling indeed and an indication of the increasing challenges so many people face here in the UK. We can play a part in making a difference locally, here in Cornwall in so many ways, donating food and hygiene items is one way that we can do this.
At Truro Cathedral, we are doing a reverse Advent calendar, and invite those that wish to donate to bring food items to the cathedral office with all proceeds being donated to Truro Foodbank this festive season.
You can find more information about the work that the Trussell Trust do on their website here: Trussell Trust
If you are based in or around Truro and would like to organise your own reverse Advent calendar to support Truro Foodbank, you can find more information about what food they need on their website: Truro Foodbank
If you're not based in or around Truro, you can find more information about your local foodbank by putting in your location and the word 'foodbank' into your preferred search engine.
