Along with 15 other colleges across the country, Bournemouth & Poole College have formed the FE Festive Foodbank campaign. As a group, there is a target of raising £12,000 and collecting 30,000 items.

Principal of Bournemouth & Poole College, Diane Grannell, said, “It’s truly sobering that in our developed and relatively wealthy country, there are still people who are in such poverty they rely on foodbanks for food and other essentials. Christmas is a time when that contrast between wealth and poverty is brought into sharp relief and that’s why I signed our college up to the Festive Foodbank initiative.

“This year, it is likely that more people than ever will find themselves in financial hardship and I would encourage as many of our students, staff and wider community as possible to support this initiative and make a difference in our local community for those less fortunate than ourselves.”

There are collection points near the reception of both the North Road and Lansdowne sites, as well as an additional collection point at the College’s Fulcrum site. All items collected by the College will be donated to local foodbanks in the Bournemouth and Poole areas.

As well as the collection, a JustGiving page has been created for the group of colleges taking part in the campaign. Funds from this will be divided up between all of the colleges involved and distributed to their local foodbanks. To donate to the FE Festive Foodbank, please visit: justgiving.com/campaign/FestiveFEFoodbankFriday