Summer Meals Scheme Success

Throughout the six weeks of the school summer holidays our Summer Meals Scheme provided over 20 families with not only a much needed donation of food, but a fun event for the children, parents or carers to attend, as well as additional support and advice from Jo, our Project Worker and her team.

During the summer holidays, many families in Tower Hamlets find themselves struggling to provide enough food every day without the provision of the free school meal their child would normally receive. Understandably this creates a lot of pressure and stress on the parents, on top of the struggle to find affordable activities to keep their children occupied. This is why our Summer Meals Scheme provided not only food support but also activities for the whole family.

“I was most looking forward to the activities because it was something I could do with my daughter, so we could have some quality time together.” Michelle

From the Paper Theatre in Story Week, to making smoothies in Healthy Eating Week, the children thoroughly enjoyed all the different activities provided for them. Our partners generously donated family tickets for the cinema and we were also able to arrange for families to visit the historic Tower of London.

8 face painting

It was great to see a sense of community being built between the families as the weeks went on. The value in having someone to talk to who understands the challenges you face, cannot be underestimated. The families have expressed an interest in continuing to meet on a regular basis – we are currently exploring securing the support to take this work forward, building on the relationships that have been nurtured.

“It’s been a godsend, I don’t know what we would have done without it over the summer.” Leslie

We ended the summer with a big finale BBQ, with delicious food, outdoor games, a bouncy castle and those all-important Back-to-School Packs. Every school aged child received a Backpack with books, pencils, calculators and other equipment needed for the start of a new school year.

12 girls

The success of the Summer Meals Scheme lies in the generosity of our supporters. Through the provision of a venue, activities, donations of food, back to school packs for children, gifts for families, right through to a listening ear and advice and support, none of this could have been achieved without their help. They helped provide not only a summer of fun, but also hope to families who otherwise would have gone without.

We would like to say thank you to our partners without whom it would not have been possible:
St Anne’s Limehouse, The Chapel Royal St Peter ad Vincula, Tesco Bromley by Bow, East London Nursing Trust, Tower of London, Vanguard Asset Management, Norton Rose Fulbright, Financial Conduct Authority, Unilever and Sandwich Plus.

We would also like to thank the following individuals:
Sarah Peasgood (Paper Theatre), Rosie Mayhew & Michelle Leong (Face Painters), Wiltons Music Hall (Entertainers) and our amazing team of volunteers.

We are now busy planning for this year’s Christmas Appeal – Love at Christmas. If you or your company would like to get involved, please get in touch.

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