Hospitality Students Donate Tips to Local Foodbank Campaign

The tips, generously donated by diners in the college’s training restaurant, are usually shared amongst students at the end of the academic year. This year however, Ashfields was forced to close its doors early, due to the coronavirus crisis.

Many students from across the Hospitality Division have chosen not to take their tips, but instead have donated them to the FEfoodbank fundraising campaign set up by York College to support people in the local area. The students’ kind and generous gestures have amounted to an amazing £1220 being contributed to the foodbanks, which means the York College FE Foodbank fundraising campaign is ever-closer to its £4,000 target – with £3,578 raised so far.

Sol Keeling-Pocklington, a Level 3 Patisserie student, has been cooking in Ashfields as part of his studies for the last three years. He has always enjoyed cooking and hopes to use the skills he has learned to form his future career. He says: “When I was offered the tips I wanted to donate them to the foodbank campaign, to help people who need access to food at this time – they need the money more than I do.”

Karen Horsman, Deputy Head of Curriculum for Business, Hospitality and Travel at York College says: “ We are so proud of all of our students past and present, they constantly amaze us with their commitment, attitude and professionalism and this generous donation emphasises the type of students we have within the Hospitality division, at a time when our industry, like many others, has been hit so hard.”