As children get ready to return to school after the summer holidays, schools across County Durham are being encouraged to collect leftover foreign coins and notes to help provide meals for hungry children.
Through Mary’s Meals, even the smallest amount can have a life-changing impact on hungry children living in some of the world’s poorest communities. It costs just 10p to provide a nutritious meal in a place of education, while only £19.15 provides meals for a child for a whole school year. The school feeding charity is calling on schools to start foreign currency fundraisers and asking parents to check pockets, purses and wallets for forgotten holiday money that can be sent into school with their children for the start of the new term.
St Richard’s Catholic College in East Sussex has run foreign currency collections since 2024, generating £733 for Mary’s Meals, enough to feed 38 hungry children for a full school year.
Lidia Mead, Subject Leader for RE at St Richard’s, says:
“I am always blown away by the amount we collect through foreign currency collections. We all have some leftover money from our holidays, and what better way to get rid of it than to help feed children – an amazing, simple idea.”
As well as raising vital funds for Mary’s Meals, Mrs Mead believes the collections have a lasting impact on her students. She adds:
“They do a huge amount of charity work through the likes of cake sales and raffles, but this way of fundraising is different. Pupils know the money is turned into meals for children, which helps them realise the great work they are doing. Being able to feed a child for under £20 a year really puts things into perspective for them too.”
Mary’s Meals, founded in a shed in the Scottish Highlands in 2002, provides school meals to more than three million children in 16 countries, including Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe, every school day. The promise of a daily meal encourages children into the classroom, where they gain an education and hope for a better tomorrow.
Funds generated through a foreign currency fundraiser can help the charity reach children like seven-year-old Sitraka, a pupil at Sahafy Primary School in Madagascar. Like many in his community, Sitraka’s household faces hunger. The introduction of daily school meals has transformed Sitraka’s life, as the meal he receives at school is sometimes the only meal he has all day. “The food at school is delicious,” he says, “but at home, we never have anything that tastes this good.”
This reliable access to food has significantly improved both Sitraka’s attendance and academic performance. Education is vital for Sitraka’s future; it paves the way for a stable job when he grows up, provides a ladder out of poverty for him and his family, and the prospect of a brighter future.
Schools can start making a difference today simply by requesting a free foreign currency pack on the Mary’s Meals website and galvanising parents and pupils to get involved.
Regional Development Officer at Mary’s Meals, Gerrard McMahon, says:
“We’d love for your school to set up its own foreign currency collection! We’ll provide everything you need, including envelopes, a collection box and clear instructions. We accept coins and notes from any country, as well as old UK currency no longer in circulation.
“If you have old coins and notes sitting in drawers and wallets, don’t let them go to waste. Too often, hunger holds a child back from the future they deserve, keeping them out of school and communities stuck in a cycle of poverty… year after year. With the promise of a daily school meal, we can overcome this barrier and allow a child to unleash their full potential.”
For more information, visit www.marysmeals.org.uk/foreign-currency
It costs just £19.15 to feed a child for a year with Mary’s Meals. But a donation of any value can set a child up for life, with their success being the true legacy of your gift. It’s one school meal today – a teacher, community leader, or business owner tomorrow.
