About Bridging the Gap (Manchester)
Holiday Hunger
Providing food parcels and activity packs to families struggling during the school holidays.
A shocking 29% (Joseph Rowntree Foundation UK Poverty Report 2024) of children were living in poverty nationwide in 2023/24, with Manchester having one of the highest levels of child deprivation in the country.
There are approximately 170 non-school days a year where children receiving Free School Meals (FSM) cannot access free food. Having children at home means having to find more food, childcare and ways to entertain children, all of which costs money. This puts pressure on household budgets making it even harder to ensure that children and families are eating well.
Our Holiday Hunger project provides a lifeline for families living in poverty in our community, by providing food parcels containing breakfast and lunch items for each member of a family for 5 days. In addition to essential food items, we provided essential hygiene items, such as washing powder, and play resources including reading books and science and art packs to engage children during their time away from school. We work with our local schools to ensure families most in need are targeted.
In 2024 we provided 1033 ‘Holiday Hunger’ parcels to families in our community.