Hold the front page! Felix pupils try their hands as reporters

Children from Stanhope Primary visit Evening Standard office after inspiring donations to food surplus charity
“Very happy”: the pupils with head Sahreen Siddiqui and editor George Osborne on visit to the Standard
Alex Lentati
Anna Davis @_annadavis11 January 2018

Children from the school at the heart of our charity appeal visited the Evening Standard newsroom as we said “thank you” for inspiring Londoners to donate.

The plight of some families at Stanhope Primary in Greenford moved many readers to give to our Help A Hungry Child appeal, which ends tomorrow, and helped push the total raised beyond £1 million.

Food surplus charity The Felix Project is using some of the money to run a free food stall in Stanhope’s playground every week. Thanks to the appeal, similar market stalls will be set up at more than 100 schools.

About 30 children, parents and teachers from Stanhope spent the day at the Evening Standard office in Kensington, toured the newsroom and learned how to write a story. Editor George Osborne presented them with special front pages to celebrate their visit.

Headteacher Sahreen Siddiqui said: “The children were very inspired and came back to school very happy. They have written their own reports about the visit and we have put the front pages up on the walls in school.”

Tara Burnell, whose eight-year-old Emma showed a flair for computers during the visit, quietly admitted that there are times when her daughter has had to go to bed hungry. Sometimes she heads to school without breakfast, and sometimes her mother goes without food so Emma can have dinner.

Speaking as part of our appeal coverage, Emma said: “It is sad when she doesn’t have food because I really like my mum, she is precious to me.”

Visibly moved, Mrs Burnell said it was not just a lack of food that is difficult, but finding healthy food to cook cheaply. Thanks to the Felix Project stall she takes home a bag of fresh vegetables, fruit, bread and yogurts, adding ingredients such as leeks and onions to the family’s staple dinner of pasta.

Mrs Siddiqui said: “The market stall is so successful. The food is of such good quality… there is absolutely no stigma for anybody taking it.”

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