Cheltenham care home residents join forces with local church for Harvest Festival

 

A care home in Cheltenham has joined forces with a local Baptist church to celebrate Harvest Festival.  

Residents and team members at Care UK’s Sandfields, on St George’s Road, joined forces with Salem Baptist church to encourage the local community to donate their extra, unused or unwanted non-perishable food items to the home’s foodbank drop-off point. The collected items have been donated to #FeedCheltenham to support local families facing food insecurities this winter. 

Each year, Harvest Festival celebrates the time when crops have been gathered from fields, and people can reflect and show gratitude for the food that they have. It dates to when people relied on local crops for food and farmers would give thanks for a good harvest 

Commenting on the handover to the foodbank, resident Marjorie said: “It was lovely to come along to Salem; we had a thanksgiving lunch, we sang a song, said a prayer, and had a cuppa too.

“The foodbank collection is a very good initiative and people have given very generously. It’s nice to keep the harvest festival alive today because I remember it when I was young, and it was jolly good fun!”

Malaika Charles, Home Manager at Sandfields, said: “It was fantastic to celebrate the annual Harvest Festival tradition with residents and explore its importance today by collecting foodbank donations. 

“Harvest Festival is a day in the calendar where we can reflect and show gratitude for the food that we have, whilst serving as an opportunity to connect with others, regardless of age or background, and celebrate the cultural diversity which helps makes Cheltenham a great place to call home. 

“We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who donated to our foodbank drop-off point.”

To find out more about Care UK’s Harvest Festival, please visit: careuk.com/harvest-festival

Sandfields is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, nursing, dementia and short-term respite care. The care home incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities and includes its own cinema, hair salon and café.