Donate spare food to Portsmouth's harvest campaign | Canon Bob White

‘With Thankful Hearts’ is the name of the city-wide project to help feed those who might otherwise go hungry this autumn and winter.

We’re in the middle of two weeks in which churches, schools and libraries will accept your donations of food and pass them on to vulnerable families and individuals who need them.

Why are we doing this? Well, over the centuries, the season of harvest has always been a time to reflect on our food and resources. There was a sense of thanksgiving for the crops that had been gathered and was associated with sharing those good things with those who were less fortunate.

In modern day, we have become less aware of our reliance on a good harvest and tend to take for granted the things around us and the food we eat. Harvest festivals have continued in churches and schools, but have been less prominent elsewhere.

However, lockdown has made us all think again about the awareness of our food supply and has made us think about how we can support each other through tough times.

That’s why our churches of all denominations in the city have launched this project with The News, city council, HIVE Portsmouth, and the agencies who work with the most vulnerable in our city.

We’d love you to donate tinned, dried or packaged food between now and October 4, by handing in your donations at churches, schools and libraries. The full list is on portsmouth.anglican.org/harvest. We’ll then share the donations with food banks, agencies and charities that support the homeless, vulnerable families, victims of domestic violence and asylum seekers.

We’ve been blown away by how many people have already donated generously so thank you. And if you, or your organisation would like to be a venue that accepts donations, please contact me on [email protected].