MUNCH's free Christmas Day lunch at Park Community School, Havant, needs a Father Christmas, presents and helpers. A pupil-elf is rallying support for 25 Dec.

A free Christmas Day celebration is planned at Park Community School in Havant on Friday 25 December, and the community food programme that runs it, MUNCH, is looking for presents, hampers, volunteers and one particularly important helper: a Father Christmas.

The appeal has come to us from one of the school’s own pupils. Loki has taken on what the pupil calls “a rather important temporary job title” for the season: “Loki, the Christmas Mission Elf!” Loki is writing to local businesses, organisations and people to ask them to help MUNCH make Christmas Day special.

“I walk through Park Community School every day, so this isn’t an organisation I’ve randomly found online,” Loki told Chichester Live. “It’s my school. It’s my community. And these are people living around us.”

The vacancy

“Yes, apparently being a self-appointed Christmas Elf isn’t enough. We need the boss as well!” Loki writes.

MUNCH would like to hear from anyone willing to bring “a bit of Father Christmas magic” to the day, or from anyone who knows somebody who would make a good one. Because the celebration involves children and families, MUNCH will explain any volunteering, safeguarding or other requirements directly to anyone who comes forward.

What MUNCH is asking for

Loki lists the ways people can help:

  • financial donations or sponsorship
  • hampers
  • brand-new Christmas presents and suitable gifts
  • food or useful supplies
  • gift vouchers or prizes
  • volunteering or practical help
  • businesses donating goods or services
  • sharing the appeal with other people

Anyone thinking of donating is asked to contact MUNCH first, so it can say what would be most useful for this year’s celebration. “You don’t need to be a huge company or make a huge donation,” Loki writes. “One present. One voucher. One volunteered hour. One shared email. One introduction. Put enough little acts of kindness together and suddenly you’ve created something enormous.”

Ten years of Christmas Day at Park

According to Loki’s account, the school has opened its doors to the community on Christmas Day for more than ten years: the Christmas Day lunch began around 2015, before MUNCH itself was set up. It has welcomed families, elderly people, people living alone, people experiencing homelessness “and others who may otherwise have faced Christmas Day without somewhere welcoming to go.”

Past years have brought a Christmas meal, children’s activities, crafts, presents and a visit from Father Christmas, paid for and run with help from businesses, organisations, donors, school staff and volunteers. The MUNCH poster for this year promises a traditional Christmas meal, a festive atmosphere, activities, and gifts and seasonal treats with community support.

What MUNCH does the rest of the year

MUNCH was set up at Park Community School in January 2017 to tackle holiday hunger, so children and families could still get nutritious food when schools were closed. It now provides free hot meals in the school holidays, Thursday evening meals, community support, activities and emergency food.

The school’s figures for 2023 to 2024, as Loki set them out for us:

  • 9,788 MUNCH meals served
  • 895 emergency meals provided
  • more than 140 Christmas guests
  • involvement from 60 schools

MUNCH’s own community information says it supports around 300 people each week. It also runs the MUNCH Community Food Pantry at the Dickinson Centre on the school site, where families pay a small subscription and choose food to make their household budget go further. Loki says the pantry model helped inspire 15 more community pantries across Hampshire.

“People come for all sorts of reasons,” Loki writes. “Some families need help stretching their household budget, some people are lonely, some would simply appreciate a freshly cooked meal and some suddenly find themselves needing emergency support.”

“Sometimes helping somebody isn’t only about filling an empty plate. Sometimes it’s making sure there’s somebody sitting on the other side of the table.”

Why Loki is doing it

“I might only be one pupil, but I want to do whatever I can to help bring people together and make this Christmas a little brighter for those who need it,” Loki says.

“If my Christmas Mission manages to make even one person feel less lonely, one child smile, or one family feel that somebody cares, then it will have been worth every email I’ve sent.”

What it means for you

If you can give a present, a voucher, an hour of your time, or a red suit and a beard, contact F. Fearon, Community Manager at MUNCH, by email at f.fearon@pcs.hants.sch.uk or by phone on 02392 489811. MUNCH is based at the Dickinson Centre, Park Community School, Middle Park Way, Havant PO9 4BU.

If you cannot help directly, Loki’s request is simple: pass the appeal on to someone who might.

For more of what is happening over the festive season, see Santa in Chichester 2026 and the Chichester Christmas markets.

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