Did you know that, according to the Department for Work and pensions, a fifth of children in Greenwich are living in relative poverty?
Children in low income families are at increased risk during school holidays when they do not receive their free school meals and hunger may be more continually present.
This lack of food, or poor-quality food, impacts children in several significant ways, including:
Poor growth and development
Increased childhood illness
Overweight and obesity
A more pronounced summer holiday learning gap
Poor concentration and behaviour in class, when returning to school, leading to poor educational attainment.
The Holiday meals scheme, funded by Royal Borough of Greenwich, started in 2016 from a small grant and trialed at one childcare venue. It has now grown to become a borough wide initiative which provides up to 16000 individually prepacked kids meals per year across 10 different sites.
For those families in need of support, please bring your kids down to the below venues to claim a free holiday meal for your child.
Venues and dates:
At Woolwich & Thamesmere Centre Libraries:
27, 28, 29 December 2023
2, 3, 4, 5 January 2024
At Eltham, Plumstead & Greenwich Centre Libraries:
27, 29 December 2023
2 , 4 January 2024
A gentle reminder to arrive early, as there will be limited availability and served on a first come first served basis.
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