Poor struggle to feed their children during holiday

Steph Wilde: breakfast club and allotment

SIX in 10 parents on low incomes struggle to feed their families during school holidays, according to new research.

A community club in Alt is doing its bit by running a breakfast club and an allotment so residents can grow their own food.

Steph Wilde, director of the Alt Community Group, said: “We set up our holiday breakfast club last summer as a way to engage with local residents, provide them with opportunities to socialise with their neighbours and reduce social isolation.

“Parents don’t always ask for help for many reasons but as some families are unable to provide breakfast for their children, which means they rarely sit together, our club allows them to start the day together with a choice of toast, cereal, juice and fruit for breakfast.

“We’ve already set up an orchard there so the children can go fruit picking — we’ve made our own jam in the past. They can also grow their own vegetables in the garden we’ve developed on the estate.”

The report, “Isolation and Hunger: the impact of the school holidays on struggling families” by cereal company Kellogg’s shows more than six in 10 parents with household incomes under £25,000 aren’t always able to afford to buy food outside term time.

School holidays are often difficult for low-income families, whose children usually receive free school meals or support from breakfast clubs.


MORE than 10 per cent of Oldhamers are living in food poverty, according to a new report.

Almost a fifth of those affected sought help from Oldham Food Bank over the past year, almost a third of them children.

Oldham Food Bank in Clegg Street exchanged 2,937 vouchers for food in 2014, feeding 3,708 adults and 1,618 children. More than a third of vouchers covered benefit delays, another quarter during changes to benefits.

Seventeen per cent went to those on low incomes, and while four per cent to the unemployed. The rest went to people who needed help due to sickness, homelessness or domestic violence.