Children have been returning to schools malnourished after holidays, according to a council report.
As a result 20,000 free meals will be handed out to kids in East Ayrshire during school holidays this year.
But there is a still a struggle to reach youngsters who are going hungry when term finishes.
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East Ayrshire Council has been providing lunches to children who attend holiday activity programmes in schools.
Kids received 5000 free lunches across the area during the fortnight off school this month.
But a report said it is a “challenge to engage with more young people over the holiday period”.
Andrew Kennedy, the council’s head of facilities and property management, told councillors: “There is clearly a lot of focus on food insecurity, particularly around the school holiday periods.”
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A paper presented to councillors said: “The lack of nutritious meals during holidays has been shown to result in children returning to school malnourished, affecting mood, behaviour and their ability to learn.
“This has a negative impact on their emotional and mental wellbeing, which can also affect relationships at school and at home.”
It said without the holiday meals on offer many children could go hungry in East Ayrshire.
The report was presented to the East Ayrshire cabinet last Wednesday. Now £250,000 has been set aside by the council to look at additional ways to reach hungry children.
This year kids will get free meals during six weeks in the summer and a week in October, which will cost the council £50,000.
The council is also rolling out cooking lessons for families.
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Councillor Fiona Campbell said she attended sessions at the William McIlvanney campus and the events were hailed a success by parents and pupils.
“If you nourish the body you nourish the brain,” she said.
Depute leader Elena Whitham said: “It is massively important we are taking this work forward. There is a huge capacity in our communities to participate in this.”
Councillors approved work to provide wider community access to food.
A report on progress will be made to the cabinet in the summer.
