They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Earlier this year, pictures of inadequate free school meals sparked conversations over coffee and, here in our school, we made a plan.

Inspired by Marcus Rashford and Grimsby teacher Zane Powles - who has delivered thousands of meals to families during the Covid pandemic - we committed to ensuring that no child in our school went hungry.

We knew that respectful discretion was important to continue to encourage our families to take what food they needed. And, building on an existing scheme we called Community Table, we wanted to make something that was more reliable, consistent and sustainable for our families.

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So we took a lunch trolley, went to Asda and bought £60 worth of food - the items we, as parents, thought would be useful. We packed the trolley with cereal, soup, pasta, rice, biscuits and beans. We wheeled it to the top of the school drive, then tweeted that it was there. It wasn’t a perfect plan, but getting started was more important than over-deliberating.

The items on the trolley went quickly, and were replenished with donations from staff and parents. We very soon realised that there was a desire within our school community to keep it going - it was making a difference.

Don’t forget the Community Care and Share trolley is still operating over summer! You can find it outside the Family Centre between 9-3 Monday to Friday! pic.twitter.com/xS34DxVBIq

- Neilston & Madras Learning Campus (@neilston_madras) June 28, 2021

Everyone wanted to help the families in our community and we had provided a means to do so. We would fill the trolley each morning before starting work, and the janitor wheeled it up the hill, where it remained until the pupils left at the end of the day.

Then something amazing happened. We reached out for more help and it was given - and organisations even started contacting us to offer funding and help.

Within three months, the trolley went from a sketchy idea to a vital part of the local community. We now have funding from a number of sources, which gives us the ability to ensure the trolley is there every day and the community has the security of knowing a meal is not far away.

As we returned our gaze inward, we circled back to an earlier discussion about breakfast. How could we ensure equity for children to display our school value of being “ready”, if they had empty stomachs? During a global pandemic, with restrictions as they were, we had to be creative in our approach.

So we came up with another plan. We bought a box from Home Bargains that could hang inside the school grounds, filled with cereal bars, snacks and fruit. Each child entering the school would have to pass the box as they made their way into school and, if a child does not have a snack with them that day, they simply (and subtly) pick something out and place it in their pocket.

Again, we did not wait to make it perfect. We started with a planter held on with coat hangers - which has evolved into a lovely wooden tray that a grandfather of a pupil made for us.

A simple desire within our school to take action and reach out was all we needed to make a difference. We are passionate about normalising the use of what we now call our Care and Share trolley, building on the school’s existing community spirit - and showing our children and families that we are here to help.

Andrew Howie and Victoria McCabe are teachers at Neilston and Madras Learning Campus, in East Renfrewshire