Fife schoolgirl, 10, launches Christmas food collection for foodbank

Star Ross (10) started her yearly collection after noticing that a lot of elderly people in her area were isolated during the first pandemic lockdown.

Initially she wanted to make Christmas dinner for her neighbours, but soon changed her plans when she realised that she could help vastly more people by supporting Kirkcaldy Foodbank. With the help of her mum and dad, Rosie and John, Star set to work collecting everything from canned food to cornflakes in order to help as many people as possible over the festive period.

The P6 pupil at Dysart Primary School said: “I wanted to invite our elderly neighbours for Christmas dinner, but I couldn’t help the amount of people that I wanted to, so I decided to collect for the foodbank instead. The reason why I want to do it every year is to give support to people who need help.

“Everything that I collect I’ll give to Kirkcaldy Foodbank to make sure no one goes hungry at Christmas. “I’ve also started to make videos on my Facebook page to thank people who have donated food.”

Star’s mum and dad said that they were proud of her for putting others before herself. John said: “We are extremely proud of what Star is doing to help others – it’s very selfless.

“The collection was all Star’s idea and she initially thought about making meals for old folk in our neighbourhood, but she wanted to help as much people as possible, so we helped her to start the foodbank collection.

“She has so many good ideas, not only to help vulnerable people, but the community as a whole. She’s very dedicated and has even been buying food from her pocket money to include in the collection.”

David Torrance MSP for Kirkcaldy praised Star for her dedication to helping others less fortunate.

He said: “For someone so young to be thinking about those less fortunate than herself is very heartwarming. I’ve met with Star several times now and she is a thoughtful young lady who has shown amazing community spirit.