A former Northwood schoolgirl who organises collections of thousands of food items is in the running for London Young Person of the Year.

Shobana Sivalingam, who is from Pinner and went to St Helen’s independent girls’ school, helps the Bow Foodbank feed hundreds of people in need living near the Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), where she studies, in Tower Hamlets.

Now, along with fellow student 20-year-old Hazel Woodhead, she has been nominated for the London Young People of the Year Awards or ‘YOPEYs’ – Oscars for young people who ‘give to others’.

The contest has £1,200 to be won by young people who live, work or study in London at an awards ceremony in November.

QMUL Volunteering Coordinator Bronwen Eastaugh, who nominated the 21-year-old, said: “Tower Hamlets has the highest rate of children living in poverty in all of the UK and is the third most deprived local authority district in England.

“Shobana and Hazel launched an initiative which has made massive contributions to alleviating food poverty in the local area, by engaging Queen Mary students in activities to support the local Bow Foodbank.”

Along with volunteering at the foodbank at St Mary and Holy Trinity Church, Bow Road, Hazel and Shobana have also recruited about 50 other students at the Mile End Road university to help with collections.

The students go to supermarkets and ask shoppers to donate items from their weekly shops, and have also placed food donation boxes around campus and organised bake sales, raffles and quiz nights.

So far they have collected more than 10,000 food items from the public plus another 2,000 food items from fellow students – enough to keep the foodbank going for 13 weeks.

The foodbank’s founder, Chris Rawlins, said: “We are dealing with a large number of vulnerable and bruised people, some with chronic addiction issues.

“Both Shobana and Hazel demonstrate great empathy in treating each user as an individual and not being judgemental.

Shobana and Hazel also formed “excellent working relations” with the foodbank’s other volunteers, most of whom come from Tower Hamlet and whose ages range from 18 to 80-plus.

Mr Rawlins added: “I am not exaggerating when I say that it is a joy to work with both of them.”

Economics undergraduate Shobana said: “I think we have made a big difference in the running of the foodbank.

“One challenge that the foodbank faces is a constantly increasing demand for their services as more and more people find out about them.

“We have helped them to match this demand by providing them with a steady stream of volunteers, as well as another source of food through our food collections.”

The YOPEY awards, which were founded by former national newspaper journalist Tony Gearing, will be held in November when young people across the capital go head to head to be crowned the London Young Person of the Year.