Leeds Community Foundation in partnership with Leeds City Council is launching Holiday Hunger Campaign to support healthy holidays for children across the city. Holiday Hunger is of increasing national concern and is a real problem for those who already rely on free school meals. In Leeds it has become an emerging priority for the city.
Some families in Leeds are struggling to meet the costs of feeding their children during the holidays. This can have a huge detrimental impact on children’s mental and physical wellbeing and a knock on effect on their life chances. This campaign focuses on exploring practical solutions to reduce the impact of Holiday Hunger in the long term.
The Holiday Hunger Campaign will give out grants to local projects that run activities during the school holidays to enable vulnerable children to have access to food, fun activities, learning and support for families.
Leeds City Council has already committed £75,000 to the fund and now the Holiday Hunger Campaign is looking to the Leeds business community to recruit key corporate donors to support the campaign, alongside this, businesses and their employees are encouraged to take part in the #LeedsFoodFuddle.
#LeedsFoodFuddle is a fun, seasonal activity and provides a toolkit to bring together colleagues, friends and families through the making and sharing of food with all proceeds going to the Holiday Hunger Campaign.
Kate Hainsworth, Deputy CEO of Leeds Community Foundation said:
“The Holiday Hunger campaign has been launched with a significant injection from Leeds City Council, but for us to really have an impact on the ground, we need to attract and raise more funds to ensure the resultant grant making scheme is reaching the families that need help the most.
“We are approaching key corporate donors to be part of this high profile campaign and I know this is a busy time for individuals, families and business, but we do hope that people can find the time to take part in the #LeedsFoodFuddle or raise money for Holiday Hunger through already planned Christmas activities”.
Councillor Debra Coupar, Leeds City Council’s executive member for communities said:
“No family should have to worry about being able to feed their children during the school holidays so we are very pleased to be working with the Leeds Community Foundation to start the Holiday Hunger fund.”
Tom Riordan, Chief Executive, Leeds City Council said:
“We want to ensure that we can help families next year that’s why we have allocated a substantial sum to kick start the fund. We now need businesses to get on board and do what they can to help young people in every part of the city to be able to fulfil their potential.”
How can you help?
- Bring together colleagues, family and friends for #LeedsFoodFuddle through the making and sharing of food this festive and New Year period. By holding a #LeedsFoodFuddle in the workplace you can enjoy the medley of foods brought by individuals to share and create a feast for all
- If you have any Christmas activities planned, consider raising money for Holiday Hunger
- Become a key corporate donor
- Donate directly to our campaign: mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/leedsholidayhunger
