SCHOOLS in East Lancashire are being encouraged to sign up to a national day aimed at educating pupils on issues around food waste and food poverty.

The Food for All Day will take place on Friday, January 30, and is being organised by Tauheedul Charity from its head office in Blackburn.

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So far schools as far afield as Birmingham and London have signed up to the day alongside schools in Blackburn and plan to hold a fundraising drive and events to boost awareness.

The charity has developed a core programme for the Food for All day focusing based around three activities: a Food Drive, Education and Fundraising.

Schools taking part will be provided with resource packs including posters and educational materials, and in return they are asked to run a food drive, collecting non-perishable items, to raise money to support food banks and breakfast clubs across the UK, and to educate students about food poverty and food waste.

Schools are being encouraged to be creative and innovative and may consider involving the wider school community, local charities, other schools, businesses and community organisations.

There are also a number of awards and prizes up for grabs, to recognise schools, pupils, and teachers who go the extra mile.

The awards will be judged by a distinguished panel including Alison Hubert, Director of Book Aid International, Cllr Kate Hollern, Leader of Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, Lindsey Boswell, Chief Executive of FareShare, and Sharon Roscoe, Chief Executive of Blackburn’s Education Improvement Partnership.

Yusuf Patel, Director of Tauheedul Charity said: “The whole idea for the project was initiated in Lancashire, it’s Blackburn-based, Blackburn-led, Blackburn-inspired.

“The idea is to engage schools across the country, to get them involved in tackling poverty. It’s giving kids a platform to make a real difference in their schools and in the wider community.

“There are different aspects for schools to participate in, and put together it’s quite an exciting day.”

The deadline for schools to register for the day has been extended.

For more details and for registration forms, visit www.tauheedulcharity.org/ffaday.