Blackpool Food Partnership is working with Blackpool Council to combat food poverty during the summer holidays.



Nationally, a third of parents on lower incomes have skipped meals during school holidays; six out of ten parents on less than £25,000 can’t always afford food in holidays – and figures are even worse for households with incomes of less than £15,000.

Explained Nikki Hart, Project Manager for Blackpool Food Partnership: “If you have three children who receive free school meals and a free school breakfast then during the summer holidays you have to find an extra 30 school meals a week!

“That’s a huge chunk of the family budget. It is difficult enough for children whose parents can’t afford to go on holiday or day trips out, but to suffer a lack of food during this period seems extreme in this day and age.”

A range of initiatives have been set up to support families during the summer, and the Food Partnership will be providing a range of surplus food provided by local supermarkets including Sainsbury’s, Booths, Morrison’s, and the Co-op; donated food from the public also helps fill in the gaps in provision.

Grange Park Children’s Centre and Talbot and Brunswick Children’s Centre will be offering local children free breakfasts during the summer holidays. They’ll be made up of donations to the Food Partnership with Children’s Centres offering up the space and staff to deliver the breakfasts.

Said Cllr Graham Cain, Cabinet Secretary for Blackpool Council: “It’s criminal to think that in a modern, first-world country, children are still going hungry but unfortunately that is the reality in many households.

“If you speak to a teacher or a nursery nurse they can reel off examples when they’ve seen children in the morning who’ve had nothing to eat.

“That’s why three years ago we stepped in to introduce the free breakfast scheme in primary schools, which for many families has been a lifeline.

“For them, school holidays mean real pressure on their finances, with paying for extra meals added to expensive childcare costs.

“This deal with the Food Partnership will be vitally important for low income parents across the town and I would urge those people who are fortunate enough not to have to worry about where their next meal is coming from to donate tins of food and help struggling local families.”

Great Places Housing Group are organising a programme of free breakfasts and lunches alongside family fun and educational activities over the summer including cook and eat, sports in the park and field to fork trips. This is thanks to a partnership between Great Places, Claremont First Steps, Claremont Children’s Centre, Groundwork and Blackpool Food Partnership, working together to make the summer weeks less of a strain and more of a joy.

If you would like to support children in any of these projects please drop off cartons of long-life milk, honey and canned fruit in natural juices at drop off points including The Solaris Centre, Swinton Insurance Office, Sainsbury’s Talbot Road and Booths Poulton and St Annes, or click here www.blackpoolfoodpartnership to donate to the holiday hunger collection.

And parents wanting more information can contact Grange Park Childrens Centre on Dingle Avenue (t: 476480) or Talbot and Brunswick Childrens Centre on Gorton Street on 651190 - or visit www.blackpool.gov.uk/Breakfast.