Free meals bid

North Lanarkshire Council has announced proposals to provide free meals for children in low income households every day of the year.

The Food 365 programme would cover the 175 days of the year when pupils are not at school during weekends and school holidays.

If approved by the education committee, a pilot project will take place in Coatbridge during the 2018 spring break.

Following an evaluation of this pilot, the programme would then be extended to cover the whole of North Lanarkshire in time for the summer holidays.

The council’s convener of education, Frank McNally, said: “These proposals to tackle weekend and holiday hunger are the most ambitious in the country.

“Groups like the Trussell Trust are struggling to cope with demand from parents and research has suggested that pressure on food banks doubles during the holidays. North Lanarkshire has one of the highest concentrations of deprivation in the country and this is only going to be exacerbated by further welfare reforms.”

National research shows that almost a third of parents with incomes under £25,000 skip meals during the school holidays so that their children can eat and nearly two thirds are not always able to afford food outside of term time.

This rises to half and threequarters respectively for parents with incomes under £15,000.

And in a survey carried out by the National Union of Teachers in England, 80 per cent of teachers noted a rise in holiday hunger’ where children return from holidays suffering from poor nutrition.

Almost three-quarters of teachers said this was negatively affecting children’s education

While some councils in the UK have committed to holiday programmes, these do not include weekends, so North Lanarkshire’s would be the most comprehensive in the country.

Councillor McNally added: “A good diet plays a key role in healthy growth and development, supporting learning and social skills and sets a positive habit to be continued later in life.

“Our plans will do much to promote healthy eating and address some of the symptoms of poverty for children who need it most.”

North Lanarkshire is one of the nine “challenge authorities” in Scotland with the highest levels of deprivation. Nearly 21 per cent of children live in low income households.

Based on a successful pilot, the programme – if approved – will be delivered in 23 hubs across the authority area, usually in community facilities.

Based on demand for other previous holiday initiatives, the cost is estimated to be half a million pounds.

The proposals were discussed by councillors yesterday with the plan set to get the go-ahead.