Walk and Talk CIC hosts Family Glow Walk for Kids Eat Free scheme
“Lots of parents were coming to our food bank saying they hadn’t eaten because they spent their money on feeding their children”
A mental health support group will shine bright when it hosts its annual Family Glow Walk.
Walk and Talk CIC will run the free event on Friday, starting at Barley Picnic Site at 6-30pm and taking people along the Pendle Sculpture Trail.
The event will raise money for a Kids Eat Free scheme at Colne Open Door Centre, a not-for-profit community cafe and crisis service.
Nick Alderson, Open Door’s centre manager, said it is “shocking” that Pendle has the highest levels of child poverty in the country before housing costs. Around 41% of under 16s were living in relative low income families in the financial year ending in 2025, according to stats from the Department for Work and Pensions.
The figure reflects what Nick and the Open Door team see on the ground.
“We saw that coming a year prior because lots of parents were coming to our food bank saying they hadn’t eaten because they spent their money on feeding their children. A mum asked for a food parcel for the half term week and said she’s not sleeping because she’s worried about how she’d feed her children [during the holidays].”
The charity decided to launch the scheme two to three years ago and it now runs daily, with Nick calling it a “lovely scheme”.
The glow walk, he added, is a great chance to “bring the community together” and “should be a really good event.”
No registration is needed - just turn up and bring glow sticks or a torch. Donations are welcome on the evening, and there will be treats for kids.