A hugely popular scheme that has supported thousands of children across the city with healthy food and fun activities during school holidays will continue over Christmas.
The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme - Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s partnership with the Hubb Foundation will run Monday 19 December to Friday 30 December.
This Christmas there will be 140 sessions taking place, totalling 6,644 opportunities available to children between the ages of five and 16. Sessions will offer a variety of activities such as physical activities, enrichment activities and nutrition workshops; in addition to a free healthy meal. Through the programme over 1800 hampers and 500 activity packs will be distributed to families across the city.
The Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme recognises that school holidays can be pressure points for some families due to increased costs and reduced incomes. Some children are more likely to experience ‘unhealthy holidays’ in terms of nutrition and physical health and some children from lower-income families are less likely to access fun activities.
The key elements of the programme are:
- Healthy food
- Enriching activities
- Physical activities
- Nutritional education
- Signposting and referrals
- Policies and procedures.
Councillor Dave Evans, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “Our partnership with the Hubb Foundation has been highly successful. Over 40,000 opportunities were generated for children and young people last year during the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays. It is anticipated that even more opportunities will be generated during 2022, using the £1,483,380 Department for Education (DfE) grant.
“We know many households are already struggling with the rise in the cost of living so this Christmas our HAF programme will be much needed support for many families in the city.”
Councillor Janine Bridges, cabinet member for education and the economy, said: “The HAF programme not only targets resources at children and families in need of additional support during the school holidays, but is open to all families who want to take part. This supports one of our key corporate priorities to enable all of our residents to live their lives well. Our schools and community groups will once again play an important part in this programme.”
Adam Yates, Hubb Foundation chief operating officer, said: “Our team at the Hubb Foundation work tirelessly all year round working with schools, community venues and our fabulous delivery partners to ensure that we can offer a breadth of support to as many children and families as we can. We are passionate about what we do and proud of the Hubb Foundation’s journey.”
Families can book onto community sessions across the city at https://www.thehubbfoundation.com/what-s-on
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