A SCHEME to make sure Barrow children do not go hungry during the school holidays is already over-subscribed, a charity has revealed, as it battles to meet demand from large numbers of struggling families.
Holiday Kitchen, run by Action for Children, is held at the Greengate and Ormsgill Children's Centres twice a week. It offers free sessions in which parents can bring their children, cook a meal, learn new recipes and enjoy eating together.
Up to 40 people are booked into each session already, and the centres have started a waiting list due to the demand.
John Egan, Action for Children’s national director in the north of England, said: “We know families struggle during school holidays when support like free school meals just isn’t there. The fact that the Barrow scheme is over-subscribed shows there is a real need for this kind of help.
“We are seeing an increasing demand for charities to step in and provide this kind of lifeline as more and more families are being pushed into poverty. The Trussell Trust has just released figures that shows the rise in emergency food supplies given to primary school age children, food poverty is becoming a major issue for the children we support.”
Many Barrow children receive free school meal provision but, during the school holidays, pressure builds on parents who cannot rely on school support.
Schemes like Holiday Kitchen have the potential to make huge differences to the lives of youngsters. The all-party parliamentary group on hunger recently reported that children “return to school in a much-improved condition than they otherwise would have done in the absence of those projects”.
But while welcoming the initiative, Barrow and Furness MP, John Woodcock, also called the rush for summer support “worrying”.
He said: “It is good that this excellent scheme is available to teach healthy cooking skills to families, but the fact it is so oversubscribed may be another worrying sign that many parents are struggling to feed their children over the summer break.
“We know from the soaring use of the foodbank during the summer holidays that local families are not managing. My office has seen requests for foodbank vouchers steadily rise throughout the year.
“Locally and across the country there are families who just cannot make ends meet no matter how hard they try. As well as the individual suffering in young lives, this depth of deprivation is holding our communities back.”
The Holiday Kitchen sessions are free for families with children of all ages, can accommodate up to 40 people and are held at Greengate and Ormsgill Children’s Centres on Tuesdays 11am-1pm and Thursdays 4-5pm. Families wanting to take part are asked to ring the relevant centre to book.
Food bank leader “prepared for surge”:
A proactive approach to potential need appears to have eased a notoriously busy time for Barrow Foodbank.
Last year, volunteers helped 44 families in just two hours during the first week of the summer holidays in the temporary absence of free school meals. Although busy, this year has not seen the same rush in numbers.
Each family is given three vouchers for the foodbank, to be used anytime over the six-week break. It suggests a more measured approach may be being taken, with families not rushing into using their vouchers straight away.
Last month, following a campaign to boost the store cupboards at the foodbank, The Mail's Tonnes of Tins appeal proved hugely successful.
As a result, Ann Mills, Barrow Foodbank project manager, said: "We are well prepared if the surge does come."
Read more: Donations pour in to help foodbank meet soaring demand
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here