Peterhead pupils are facing a week of eating meals prepared with only a kettle to help raise money for the local foodbank in the town.
Four teenagers from Peterhead Academy are taking part in the challenge to help people living in poverty in the area.
Chelsea Sutherland-Thom, Zoe McKessick, Anna McAuslan, who are all 16, and 15-year-old Sanija Gorodko will eat food items usually given out in emergency food parcels.
The pupils have taken on the challenge in a bid to raise money and awareness for Aberdeenshire North Foodbank Peterhead as part of a Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) Scotland project.
The Scotland-wide competition encourages youngsters to make a difference in their community with winning charities being awarded £3,000 for their chosen cause.
Named the ‘Kettle Pack Challenge’ the girls and other north-east residents, including Press and Journal reporter Tamsin Gray, will only be allowed to use a kettle to make hot meals.
Kettle packs are designed for people unable to cook or who have no access to other equipment.
Starting the challenge yesterday, Chelsea said it had opened their eyes to the plight of people living in poverty.
She said: “It’s already given us a reality check.
“We all thought breakfast was awful – most of us had porridge and we found it wasn’t a good experience.
“We had Pot Noodles for our lunch.
“We want to raise awareness of the food some people actually have to live on and the physical and mental impact it has.
“It’s hard, especially if you have a budget and limited equipment to cook with.
“We’ve spent less than £15 each for the week but we’ve noticed that the food is very different.
“There’s only cold vegetables and tinned fruit – with high amounts of salt and sugar in everything.
“It’s a total diet change but we hope it can help.”
The group came up with the idea to get involved after being involved in the official opening of the centre last month.
Anna added: “We knew it had just opened and wanted to give them money to get more supplies and make sure people know where it is.”
The group hopes to raise as much as money as possible and have set themselves an initial target of £250.
More information can be found on the YPI Peterhead Foodbank Fundraising Page on Facebook and donations can be made online by visiting aberdeenshirenorth.foodbank.org.uk
P&J reporter Tamsin Gray takes on the Kettle Pack Challenge
“Usually popping the kettle going on is the sign of a tea break but for this week it’s also an indication of meal times.
“I heard about the Kettle Pack Challenge when the Peterhead Foodbank centre was officially opened last month and found to already be the busiest in the region.
“With the idea being to raise funds and awareness, living on a very restricted diet which many people are forced to survive on, it seemed like a simple task to take on in aid of such a centre.
“That being said, the food itself can only be described as undesirable.
“Breakfast was similar to normal but UHT milk is not quite what I’m used to.
My lunchtime ‘soup’, which was essentially powder and water, had very little substance.
“Jokingly it could be coined astronaut food – dehydrated and not overly appetising.
“But it filled a hole and if that was the only thing I was able to have then I would be really grateful.
“The idea that some people are given boxes which contain three days worth of food of this kind highlights the desperate situation some of these individuals have found themselves in.
“Doing it by choice for a week seems novel but the reality of those requiring these sachets to survive is a hard-hitting message.”