Families struggling to feed children over the school holidays are being provided with a ‘lifeline’ this summer.
Volunteers will hand out almost 6,000 free meals across Trafford over the next few weeks as they work to tackle ‘holiday hunger’.
In borough known for its million pound mansions, Trafford Housing Trust (THT) wants to reach the people living in hidden pockets of deprivation.
So they’ve ploughed £49,000 into helping 12 existing community groups to provide activities and food for kids during the summer holidays.
“When people think of Trafford they think of Altricham and Hale and those affluent areas. But the north of the borough in particular - areas of Sale, Partington and Stretford - there is extreme poverty and people are really struggling,” THT capacity builder Zoe Taylor says.
“There is a real pressure on parents with children at schools where there are wealthy children, but they’re struggling to feed them. Those extremes are becoming more common.”
“It’s almost harder for those families to be in a borough that’s very affluent,” social impact manager Fay Jackson adds.
“In other boroughs where deprivation levels are more across the board there are more services to help.”
Read more of today's stories here
She adds: “Often parents go without so we’re trying to make this time of year less stressful for parents."
The holiday hunger scheme is aimed at taking the pressure of families whose children would usually receive free school meals.
It’s the first time THT’s social investment fund has asked for existing projects to step forward and tackle the rising problem of child poverty as austerity bites across Greater Manchester.
All 12 projects are different - one offers an hour of boxing a day and a hot meal, another provides a range of activities. In Partington a group of mums are being funded to make and distribute packed lunches to those most in need.
Some of the groups offer activities as well as lunch, while others are focused on providing food not just for the children, but the whole family. But all allow community volunteers to reach people they might not have reached before.
“We heard from a grandmother who was really relieved that her daughters were getting food parcels because they no longer needed to supplement them. I think we’re managing to make a difference,” says Zoe.
It’s a warm and drizzly day when the M.E.N visits the St John’s Centre in Old Trafford to find out how the groups work.
Here, 40 children are politely lining up to receive a hot meal of pasta. They have spent the morning playing football, ping pong, pool, creating Lego figures and painting.
As they sit down to tuck into plates of hot penne, chatter and laughter fills the room.
The food has been prepared by volunteers - many of them parents themselves.
Amongst them is local mum-of-five Safina Ahmed, who was convinced by a friend to come help out at the club many years ago. She's been helping out ever since.
She says: “There are three or four of us who do the cooking and help out. It’s all team work.”
Safina’s daughter, who is here today, has been making puppets with volunteers.
“It helps children to socialise,” she says. “When she’s here she’s busy making stuff and learning.”
The group provides activities for children whose families CAN afford to pay for them to attend and those who can’t. No matter what their background, everyone is treated equally.
“I think kids that get free school meals were getting missed and that’s recognised as a problem now,” says volunteer coordinator Elaine Elland.
“It’s always been a problem. There are a lot of families on low incomes and we recognise that can be difficult to entertain the children over the summer too.
“We always provide a meal for everyone if they pay for the club or if they come for free so that everyone is treated equally and it gets rid of any stigma. We should not be able to distinguish between the two.
“We have people who say it’s a bit of a lifesaver, especially those with bigger families.”
For details of where the projects are visit the website here or call Trafford Housing Trust’s customer care team on: 0300 777 7777.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news. We are on Instagram too. We'll also bring you live updates and notifications of breaking news on the M.E.N. app - download it here.
