The pupils and staff at the London Enterprise Academy (LEA) have a proud tradition of consistent grassroots engagement and have once again gone above and beyond to respond to the call of those in need.

On Wednesday 14^th December, the team at LEA handed over their entire food bank collection to the Docklands Community Initiative in time for the family support over the school holiday and the festive period.

The Docklands Community Initiative, based in the Isle of Dogs are serving the most vulnerable people from our community through a food bank and home delivery service.

This includes the elderly and homebound, homeless friends, refugees and asylum seekers, people fleeing violence and families facing great hardship.

This donation will go a long way to boosting depleted stocks where the demand for food far exceeds what is available to share.

Thank you, Ashid Ali (Head Teacher, LEA), Muhi Mikdad (Career Advisor, LEA) and Mo Islam for coordinating the pupil and staff for their generous donations. This is their 9^th year in supporting local initiatives in Tower Hamlets, led by Muhi Mikdad, supported, and inspired by the community champion; Emdad Rahman MBE. Their collection was also bolstered by other charitable initiatives such as hosting the England v France, World Cup quarterfinal at LEA and charging the audience a nominal fee to support their food bank.

According to the Food Ethics Council nearly four million children don’t have access to healthy, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food.

Many families in the UK are ‘food insecure,’ facing stark choices between buying food, paying the rent, or heating their home.

A lack of shops selling fresh food, fast food outlets near schools and vegetables that cost three times more than ultra-processed alternatives, mean that cheap food laden with salt, sugar and saturated fats is often their only option.

“Pupils in our school are always encouraged to help out in their communities in various ways. Collecting food for the food bank has been a great way to help people in need in Tower Hamlets for years.” Said Muhi.

“We motivate our pupils by awarding the form group with the largest collection with a prize. This creates a friendly competition among peers which this year resulted in the largest ever collected in our school.” He added.

“Since the inception of this school in 2014, without a miss, our pupils and staff have supported struggling families and individuals locally.” Mentioned Ashid.

“They are often encouraged and inspired by ‘charity-man’ Emdad Rahman MBE,” Laughed Ashid.

Their next initiative is to support Whitechapel Mission, who do excellent work in supporting homeless people. If you would like to get involved, please do get in touch with Muhi Mikdad or the London Enterprise Academy on Tel: 0207 426 0746 or email:  info@londonenterpriseacademy.org