Most of us are probably familiar with the concept of advent calendars, where we receive something each day during the countdown to Christmas. But what happens if we flip the idea around and use it to give back to the community instead? 

The ‘Reverse Advent Calendar’ Campaign 

Every year, Manchester Central Foodbank launches a ‘Reverse Advent Calendar’ in early November to facilitate the collection of essential items during one of their busiest periods. Being a crisis service, their goal is to support people when they need help the most. Outside of Christmas and other high-demand times, the food bank supports over 1,500 people a month and accept donations all year around.  

In the spirit of the University’s Social Responsibility commitments, a team of researchers in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health (FBMH) joins the food bank’s efforts by encouraging staff from across campus to participate in the campaign. 

Among the organisers was Zac Sandy, Research Technician, who coordinated the initiative by liaising with the food bank and spreading the word to get as many people involved as possible. Others included Nisha Nair (Research Fellow and Environmental Lead for the School of Biological Sciences), Louise Flanagan (Research Associate) and Joan Chang (Research Fellow), who helped with organising collections around campus and bringing all items together for the pickup day.  

How the campaign worked 

Similar to traditional advent calendars, The Reverse Advent Calendar also listed one item for each of the 30 days leading up to December, ranging from tinned foods to hygiene products. Staff could then refer to the calendar and bring the specific items to the collection points in several Faculty buildings.  

While the calendar served as a helpful shopping list, staff were welcome to donate as many or as few items as they wanted. This made it easier for more people to take part, as even donating just one item made a meaningful contribution to the campaign. 

The calendar was carefully curated to avoid overwhelming the food bank with commonly donated items, such as pasta and rice, while ensuring they received enough of the rarer items, such as toothpaste.  

By the end of the month, the team collected a total of 262 kg of items. This made up 37 three-day meal packages, totalling 333 meals.  

How to get involved 

While this is an annual campaign, last year’s success was certainly unparalleled, thanks to better promotion across wider audiences. There are already plans to continue running this initiative next Christmas, and likely for many years to come. As Zac commented, receiving the total weight of items from the Manchester Central Foodbank gives them a goal to try and beat every year!  

If you’re interested in contributing to the campaign, keep an eye on your usual communication channels towards the end of the year for details on how to donate. 

If you have ideas on how to advertise the campaign more widely across the University, please reach out to Zac Sandy or srbmh@manchester.ac.uk.  

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