More help is on the way for struggling Kirklees families this summer thanks to an increase of funding to The Bread and Butter Thing for a holiday programme.
The Bread and Butter Thing (TBBT) redistributes surplus food from supermarkets, factories and farms, with members able to purchase shopping bags filled with a minimum of £35-worth of quality nutritious food for just £7.50. Kirklees has several TBBT hubs including at Cowlersley, Crosland Moor, Berry Brow, Dalton, Sheepridge, Thornhill Lees, Chickenley, Heckmondwike, Howden Clough and Liversedge.
This summer, the initiative is working alongside the government’s Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF), to support children who fall outside the national eligibility criteria but still need help. The programme will support 33 communities, creating 4,549 places for children across the UK. For each place, families will receive a free food shop at TBBT, ensuring the fridge is stocked even when the sessions aren’t running.
Image: The Bread and Butter Thing
Funded through Sainsbury’s Nourish the Nation campaign and supported by Comic Relief, the initiative also includes creative activities, day trips and hot meals. Additionally, members in a further 50 communities will receive a free shop this summer, boosting support in more than half of all The Bread and Butter Thing communities across the UK.
Vic Harper, CEO of The Bread and Butter Thing says: “We know that money gets tighter over the school holidays, when support drops away, but pressures only increase. We hear from our communities that programmes like HAF Around the Hub are allowing for valuable memories to be made with their children, despite the current financial challenges.”
“Holiday provision is vital, but so is consistency; that’s why we keep all our food clubs running throughout summer. Providing access to affordable, nutritious food is an everyday thing, not just a term thing.”
The Bread and Butter Thing is a UK-based food redistributor, working to combat food insecurity. It delivers essential supplies to some of the UK’s most deprived communities through its nationwide network of 145 hubs. In addition to the HAF activity over the six-week summer period, The Bread and Butter Thing will distribute an estimated 600,000 food bag sets to its members with children at home.
For more information on The Bread and Butter Thing, please visit the website here: https://www.breadandbutterthing.org/
