During term time, many children in schools across Bath and Wells benefit from a free breakfast provided through school breakfast clubs. However, during the school holidays, this support is not available, leaving families having to find the extra cost from with their already tight household budget.
In Chard, St Mary’s Church stepped in to help bridge the gap for families with a simple, but effective initiative, food bags. The project grew out of a conversation between Revd John Rollings, Associate Vicar at St Mary’s and Revd Georgina Vye who noticed that while schools provided breakfast during term time, families lose that support during the holidays.
Their response was to set up a holiday breakfast scheme, open to anyone who wanted to take up the offer. The initiative was supported financially by the Lord’s Larder Food Bank, a local initiative that was started by Chard Churches Together. John buys the food which families can choose from, this includes cereals, spreads for toast, tea bags, squash, milk, bread, eggs and butter.
John says “There are a number of families really struggling. This makes a real difference. Without it, some children might just get a slice of toast for breakfast or less. This is just a small thing, but it can make a big difference to families, and we can provide things like fresh milk, cereal and eggs which not only help financially but are important additions to children’s diet.”
The scheme is not just about food, the team has also created a café space where people can enjoy tea, coffee, toast or even a bacon sandwich. John says, “This creates opportunities for conversations, builds community and offers gentle support to people. It is such a nice way to build relationships with families. Most of those who come along are families with school-aged children, though grandparents often come along too, as many of them are caring for their grandchildren during the holidays."
Keen to reach as many people as they could so that fewer families were left struggling to feed their children in the holidays, John and the team shared information about the breakfast club and cafe on social media, in school newsletters at the end of term and through the Lord’s Larder foodbank. On average of around 25 families come along each week.
John says families have said they really appreciate the support. “Many have told us how tough it is to cover the cost of meals when children are at home. Rising food prices make finding enough to pay for all meals a real challenge and breakfast is often one meal families skip in order to make ends meet. We are just grateful to be able to do a little something to help ease these difficulties.”