No, not starting with Christmas and working backwards, but more like the reverse of an Advent Calendar – you open the door and put something in rather than taking something out.

“No-one should go hungry, and especially not at Christmas.

Yet shockingly thousands of people right here in the UK, one of the richest countries in the world, can’t afford to feed their families. During 2016/17, the biggest network of food banks, the Trussell Trust, gave out nearly 1.2 million three-day emergency food supplies. That’s an awful lot of people in desperate situations.”

This year the St.Andrew’s Vestry were enthusiastic about doing a Reverse Advent Calendar for the Tain Food Bank (but as they say ‘other food banks are available’, so anyone could join in the initiative).

The Food Bank in Tain, along with pretty much every other food bank across the UK, is getting a lot of referrals at the moment, which will only increase as we approach Christmas and early January.   The idea is that instead of opening an calendar “door” you put a food or toiletry item into a collection box each day (or even just once a week) to make a real difference to somebody’s Christmas.

As the author of the Much More with Less blog wrote:

“I really believe many of us are only a relationship breakdown, an illness or a job loss away from tipping into financial troubles. Recent research by the Financial Conduct Authority found that half of UK adults are potentially financially vulnerable. Around 4.1 million people were already in financial difficulty, after missing payments for household bills or credit cards three times or more in the last six months.

Hopefully, by adding a few extras here and there, and taking advantage of offers, vouchers and freebies, it needn’t be too expensive.

Even if you don’t fancy doing a reverse advent calendar, adding a couple of items to a food bank collection box will still make a difference..”

There are Food Bank collection boxes at St Andrew’s and St Finnbarr’s, so if you think its a good idea ….