A heroic teacher who has delivered 7,500 packed lunches to his pupils in lockdown has made his final journey. Zane Powles, who teaches and lives in North-East Lincolnshire, has now worked for 17 and half weeks delivering the lunches to pupils who normally would be fed at school but who were unable to access school-provided meals due to the CoVid-19 lockdown.
Mr. Powles feared that many children, some of whom live in families with food insecurity, would be left to go hungry, or that their families would need to make other important sacrifices in order to keep them well fed. He walked each and every day to each pupil's home to hand deliver the food parcels and it is reckoned he clocked up over 600 miles on foot during the months his project was operational getting up at 7am each and every day.
Speaking of his efforts, Mr. Powels said:
"When I started these walks I was concerned about the kids and their wellbeing and I wanted to make sure I could see them all. I needed to know if they were safe, if they were healthy, and if they had access to food."
He continued:
"After all these months it was a bit emotional for it to come to an end—I love seeing my students and checking up on them. It's so important to me. I'm just doing my job at the end of the day. My role is to help nurture and educate children, and to take care of them. I can't believe how far it's gotten—I never expected to do any of this, but it's crucial that it doesn't end here."
This wasn't just a project dedicated to nutrition either. While almost all classes in England had been moved online, Mr. Powles made sure that he was delivering and receiving homework to all of his children, thereby making sure that their education was not suffering.
His great work will not be stopping even though he will no longer be making food deliveries as the children return to school. He will later this year be doing a sponsored bike ride to all of the UK's city castles, a journey of over 1,500 miles, in order to raise money for children living in poverty.
Poverty in the UK has skyrocketed since the financial crisis of 2008 and the Covid-19 pandemic has left another huge economic hole in the nation's finances going forward. A third of the UK's children live in poverty. The government did however begin producing food stamps for needy children over summer after Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford started a public campaign.
Mr. Powles, has said his charitable work is based on one key concept alone:
"We should never give up on children. Having a tough upbringing is never their fault."
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