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Knowle West charity extends free school meal deliveries to include DIY meal kits
Records show that in 2019, nearly 12,000 school students in Bristol were receiving free school meals and school closures under lockdown has increased pressures on charities to provide food for the city’s vulnerable children.
In Knowle West, the Square Food Foundation launched a #SquareMeals initiative to help families cope during the pandemic soon after schools in Bristol were closed.
The charity, which delivers free and subsided cookery courses and works with Bristol24/7 to deliver the How To Be A Chef programme, repurposed its kitchen to prepare and supply a daily meal to up to 100 children and families in Knowle West who rely on free school meals. Since lockdown began, the charity has prepared more than 2,500 meals.
is needed now More than ever
Building on the success of #SquareMeals, the charity has extended their daily free school meal replacement deliveries to include weekend DIY meal kits.
The DIY kits not only provide a meal, but also an activity for children
The kits have all the ingredients needed to make a meal for five people and includes and cook-a-long video link, in which a Square Food Foundation teacher shows children how to make the food, while informing them about healthy eating.
“The meal kits are a good way for Square Food to further connect with the families we’re supporting,” says Square Food Foundation founder, Barny Haughton.
“We know that children are more likely to try food they’ve cooked themselves, so these meal kits don’t just help tide families over, they give children and parents something fun and productive to do together and encourage children to try new things.”
Not only guarding the city’s children against food poverty and hunger, the new DIY meal kit scheme provides these same families with an extra meal over the weekend as well as a fun, inclusive activity for children and parents who are stuck indoors.
“We know there are families out there having a tough time,” says Faye Morgan, safeguarding lead & family liaison officer at Oasis Academy. “We see and talk to them every day. This is a small but significant way in which we can help them.”
Donate to the Square Food Foundation at www.localgiving.org/charity/squarefoodfoundation/project/fillingthegap
All photos: Square Food Foundation
Read more: Getting free school meals to children in the midst of coronavirus
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