Young dancers in Leamington and Warwick team up with Foodbank for Christmas fundraising campaign

Young dancers in Leamington and Warwick have teamed up with Coventry Foodbank for its Christmas fundraising campaign to help tackle the rising food crisis.

The Foodbank is appealing for support to help meet increasing demand through a new four-part social media video, filmed in collaboration with a local dance group Leamington and Warwick Academy of Dance.

Starting today (December 1), they hope to raise awareness as well as thousands of pounds for the foodbank, which has 14 centres throughout the city.

The project uses dance to narrate the journey of food from the supermarket shelves to the central warehouse where it is sorted and packed and then sent onto the homes of those who need it most.

Rich Smith, head of communications, said: “Last year we had huge success with our first social media campaign song The 12 Days of Christmas and the question was how were we going to top that this year?

“The rationale behind it is that we want to tell the story in short segments to keep people’s attention on social media and it builds momentum over time.”

Told across four chapters between December 1 and 7, the short video opens at Tesco in Clifford Bridge Road where a little girl asks her mother if she can donate food to the foodbank, prompting the magical ‘Foodbank Fairies’ to appear.

The campaign culminates with the chance to watch a run through of the whole story, on December 9.

To donate or watch, go to: https://coventryfoodbank.org.uk/dance/

Dee Ward, project manager for Coventry Foodbank added: said: “The Foodbank has been serving the people of our city for over a decade, feeding thousands of individuals and families each year.

"This has been incredibly important, especially as the cost of living has increased dramatically this year, resulting in more first-time foodbank users.

“Last year, we recorded a song and put it on social media, which raised over £10,000 to support Coventry Foodbank.

"This year, we’re hopeful that our light-hearted dance video will raise much needed funds to help people facing food crisis this Christmas.”