For 17 years, Murrumbeena Primary School has been helping those in need put food on the table.
Each year the school donates 25 to 30 boxes of food to Uniting’s Food For Families program which is distributed through our emergency relief, family services and outreach centres across Victoria and Tasmania.
Amanda, the school’s First Aid Officer and Library Technician, has been running the program for over 14 years.
“It’s my pledge to my friend, Petra Wood, who started it at Murrumbeena Primary,” says Amanda.
“I told her I would continue it as long as I could. So, every year I do.
“She ran it for two, maybe three years and then I took over after she passed away.”
Amanda says the program has been a great way to bring the community together and teach students the importance of caring for others.
“It teaches the wider community, children and adults, to look after one another,” she says.
“The program opens the students’ eyes to helping other people, not just their own families.
“It shows them that they are luckier than many and to be mindful that there are people out there doing it tough.”
Amanda says running the program yearly at Murrumbeena Primary has been a breeze.
“It’s the easiest program to run. Uniting do everything,” she says.
“All we do is put out boxes, print out some posters and just encourage people to donate.
“We then give Uniting a call when the boxes are ready to be picked up.”
Murrumbeena Primary School typically begin donation collection at the start of term four.
“We normally do it in the lead up to Christmas and it just gets everyone involved,” says Amanda.
“The children really get into it. When they go shopping with their families, they ask if they can have their own little bag to donate to the program.”
Amanda recommends all schools give it a try.
“I would absolutely recommend others participate in Food For Families,” she says.
“It really is a beautiful, heart-warming program. It brings people closer together.”
Get started with Food For Families.
