Burnley Together receives funding to prevent holiday hunger for families

Community hub Burnley Together can now support additional households across the town during the school holiday period following a successful bid by Calico Homes to DEFRA’s Covid-19 Food Charity Grant Scheme.
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The £64,286 received will be used to provide food parcels for families and to help cover costs for community kitchens providing meals to children until the start of the new school term.

Hunger among children during the holiday periods is a very real problem each year. This year, the problem will be heightened by the continuing economic impact of the current crisis.

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Burnley Together anticipates that families who are already on reduced incomes, and who also have children out of school will be hardest hit.

Since March, the community hub has supported more than 1,800 households, coordinating the delivery of more than 4,460 food parcels; and demand for the service is still very much there.

This latest initiative will be organised by Burnley Together, with partners Burnley Leisure coordinating the storage and distribution of food for families in need.

Burnley Together is also working with the community and voluntary sector services including Participation Works, Charter House, Ghausia Mosque, Gannow Community Centre, Stoops and Hargher Clough Community Centre, Burnley FC in the Community, Burnley Boys Club, and Northern Community Networks to provide a network of community food hubs.

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Announcing the new programme, Phil Jones from Calico said: “We’ve already seen how our communities have come together throughout the current pandemic, and the work with partners around the summer holiday project has been no different.

"We’re pleased to be able to bring this extra food capacity into Burnley for the summer holidays which will hopefully mean that no child will need to go hungry.”

Coun, Charlie Briggs, leader of Burnley Council, said: "This is another example of partners pulling together to help those less fortunate through difficult times.

"Burnley Together continues to provide much-needed support to those hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic and I very much welcome this latest initiative."

Families needing to access the support of Burnley Together can call 01282 686402 or email [email protected] The team are available seven days a week, 9am to 5pm.

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