Holiday support expanded to families beyond HAF eligibility
We will distribute an estimated 600,000 food bag sets to its members with children at home this Summer.
More than 4,000 families across the UK will be able to access food and essential support during the summer holidays, thanks to increased funding for The Bread and Butter Thing’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) Around the Hub programme.
The initiative works alongside the Government’s Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF), to support children who fall outside the national eligibility criteria but still need help.
Funded through Sainsbury’s Nourish the Nation campaign and supported by Comic Relief, the initiative includes creative activities, day trips, hot meals, and a free food shop at The Bread and Butter Thing.
The programme will support 33 communities, creating 4,549 places for children who don’t meet the Department for Education’s HAF criteria. For each place, families will receive a free food shop at The Bread and Butter Thing, ensuring the fridge is stocked even when the sessions aren’t running.
Additionally, members in a further 50 communities will receive a free shop this summer, boosting support in more than half of all The Bread and Butter Thing communities across the UK.
Vic Harper, CEO of The Bread and Butter Thing says: “We know that money gets tighter over the school holidays, when support drops away, but pressures only increase. We hear from our communities that programmes like HAF Around the Hub are allowing for valuable memories to be made with their children, despite the current financial challenges.”
“Holiday provision is vital, but so is consistency; that’s why we keep all our food clubs running throughout summer. Providing access to affordable, nutritious food is an everyday thing, not just a term thing.”
In addition to the HAF activity over the six-week summer period, The Bread and Butter Thing will distribute an estimated 600,000 food bag sets to its members with children at home.
