Acts of Kindness
Concerned teacher packs 7,500 lunches - delivers them to students by foot daily during lockdown
“I needed to know if they were safe, if they were healthy, and if they had access to food.”
Ashley Fike
09.08.20

Not all heroes wear capes and that’s certainly a true statement about teachers.

One teacher, Zane Powles, from the UK is an award-winning, heroic teacher that most definitely deserves praise. Every single day during the lockdown, he would prepare, pack, and deliver lunches to his students.

He wanted to make sure that none of them went hungry during the hard and difficult times of the pandemic. In total, Mr. Powles ended up delivering approximately 7,500 lunches. Every single morning, he would prepare 85 lunches.

YouTube/Bloomberg QuickTake News
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YouTube/Bloomberg QuickTake News

As if preparing and packing the lunches wasn’t impressive enough, Powles would also walk 7.5 miles every single day around his town of North East Lincolnshire to deliver them.

With schools being shut down, many children would struggle to have access to food. That’s why walking over 600 miles over the course of 16 weeks was no problem whatsoever for the caring and compassionate teacher.

Powles, 48, guesses that he carried around 4 tons of food during that time as well. The smiles and gratitude from the children, however, made the weighted walks completely worth it.

“When I started these walks I was concerned about the kids and their wellbeing and I wanted to make sure I could see them all,” explained Powles, who works at Western primary school in the large coastal seaport of Grimsby. “I needed to know if they were safe, if they were healthy, and if they had access to food.”

YouTube/Bloomberg QuickTake News
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YouTube/Bloomberg QuickTake News

When he completed his ‘final delivery,’ he said his mission was far from complete. He still planned on continuing to help children in need however he could.

“After all these months it was a bit emotional for it to come to an end—I love seeing my students and checking up on them. It’s so important to me,” he continued. “I’m just doing my job at the end of the day. My role is to help nurture and educate children, and to take care of them.

Powles would normally start his days around 7 am at the school where classes would have taken place. He’d prepare and pack the food before heading out on his two-hour journey to his students’ houses. He never even took a day off.

YouTube/Bloomberg QuickTake News
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YouTube/Bloomberg QuickTake News

Sometimes, he’d leave homework assignments, which the students were less thrilled about – however, they were grateful for their teacher just the same.

“It’s been relentless and exhausting but it’s been well worth it. They’re always so happy and grateful.”

Powles is now raising money through a charity bike ride where he’ll be exploring the UK’s castles over a 1,500-mile journey. The funds that he raises will be donated to Meals and More, which provides support to children who live in poverty.

“In the summer the children’s struggles are invisible to us because we don’t see them, but it’s essential that we ensure they’re safe.”

YouTube/Bloomberg QuickTake News
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YouTube/Bloomberg QuickTake News

Back in 2019, Mr. Powles won the Inspirational Primary School Teacher award for his compassionate efforts working with challenging students in the behavioral unit.

“We should never give up on children. Having a tough upbringing is never their fault,” Zane Powles said upon accepting the award.

If you’d like to donate to the teacher’s charity bike ride, you can do so here. Learn more about Mr. Powle’s incredible selfless acts in the video below.

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