Pilot scheme running to help families struggling to feed children this summer
It comes as figures reveal the number of parents who say they may struggle to feed their children during the summer holidays.
A food larder in Northamptonshire a running a pilot scheme this summer, as it's revealed more than a third of families face concerns over feeding children during the holidays.
As part of their Stronger Starts campaign, Tesco surveyed their customers and found that 37% of parents are worried about the additional cost of feeding their children.
1 in 12 children (8%) being forced to miss meals over the summer as parents struggle with the extra costs that school holidays bring.
During previous holidays, almost a fifth of families (18%) had to seek support from a food bank or similar charity in order to put food on the table.
And a fifth (21%) of parents say they are planning to forego their own meals in order to make sure their children get fed.
Katie Steele is Operations Manager at Towcester Larder who have larders in Towcester and Roade. They are also running a new pilot scheme to help families this summer.
She says it's often a tough time for some families:
"We have been working with the schools over the past couple of weeks to get referrals of the families that need some extra support."
Thanks to funding donated by Barwood Capital, they've been able to buy food and emergency food bags for these families ahead of the summer holiday's starting.
This is the first holiday they will be running this pilot scheme.
"I'd really recommend looking on social media for local community larders and fridges, there are quite a lot in the county now that people can access but might not know about."
Katie also recommends looking for summer deals at certain restaurants and supermarkets with cafe's that offer deals allowing kids to eat free during the holidays.
His Majesty King Charles visited the South Northants Volunteer Bureau, the charity behind the Towcester Food Larder last November.
He was launching the Coronation Food Project. It seeks to bridge the gap between food waste and food need across the UK. Katie Steele says she hopes to hear more on this during the Kings Speech next week Wednesday 17th July.