Food provision across the city available during the summer holidays

Community groups, faith organisations and the voluntary sector have united alongside Stoke-on-Trent City Council to offer food support to people who may be struggling across the city.

The council is working alongside a voluntary partner, VAST Services (1920), who have pulled together an essential directory to help families all year round and especially the summer holidays.

The community directory includes the locations of community pantries and social supermarkets where affordable food can be purchased for as little as £5 for 10 items of food. There are also details of where free feed can be obtained in all areas of the city for those in need. This can be accessed at www.stokecommunitydirectory.co.uk.

One exemple of this support is charity The Bread and Butter Thing. The food redistribution charity recently launched two more of its food clubs at council run Family Hubs in a bid to bring fresh, healthy affordable food to Stoke-on-Trent's lower income communities.

Members pay £5 for a single bag, £8.50 for a three-bag family package or £17 for a large family package of six bags. This low-cost weekly shop provides essential produce for family eating – fresh fruit and veg, fridge favourites and cupboard staples that allow members to eat better and cook more.

People can visit:

• Bentilee Family Hub – Every Tuesday at 13:30 at Community Hub, Dawlish Drive, ST2 0HP
• Stoke North Family Hub – Every Thursday at 13:30 at Stoke North Family Hub, Bishop Road, Chell Heath, ST6 6QW
• Westfield Family Hub – Every Friday at 12pm at Westfield Family Hub, Buccleuch Rd, ST3 4RF

A free £70 food voucher is also being provided by the council to help parents who meet the criteria to supply food over the six-week summer holidays.

The vouchers are available for families with children who have an education and health care plan in place, for those who receive free school meals, and all pre-school children. People can go to www.stoke.gov.uk/foodvouchers and complete an application form.

This further support comes as Stoke-on-Trent City Council and its partners have relaunched the highly successful #HelpIsAtHand campaign to help the many struggling families across the city meet their basic household bills this summer.

The council and its partners have joined forces once again to offer a wealth of help and support to families during the cost of living crisis.

Councillor Sarah Jane Colclough, cabinet member for education and anti-poverty, said: “We know that the cost of living crisis is one of the main concerns of local people and we’re committed to combatting it in a joined-up way to support people across the city. Our job is to get the right help and support to them.

“The summer holidays present a real pressure in terms of having enough food on the table and we want to help ease this. No one should have to go hungry, and we will work with our partners to ensure that all families are supported through these difficult times.

“We know it's not just food people may be struggling with, it could be budgeting troubles or high energy bills, so I would urge everybody to look at what support is out there, don't suffer in silence.”

For more information about the campaign and all the help it can offer families visit https://www.stoke.gov.uk/helpisathand.