Cooking up a Storm
The Holiday Activities and Food Programme is inspired by footballer Marcus Rashford’s high profile school meals campaign, and funded by the Department for Education. The objective is to offer healthy food and enriching activities to children throughout the school holidays.
In June 2021 King’s were approached by the Gloucester charity Venture: White City to join their multi-agency partnership to deliver Gloucester’s Holiday Activities and Food programme. As part of the programme, King’s School staff and students, volunteered to prepare and cook meals during the 2021 Summer holidays.
Aims
Following the initial meeting with Venture : White City, our Headmaster, David Morton, was totally committed to this project. We were very pleased to be able to support this initiative by acting as a hub to link the partner organisations together and offer our kitchens and campus free of charge, which, together with the vital assistance from our staff and students, facilitated the delivery of this Programme which offered a life-line to many families over the holidays.
When the cooking commenced there was a very tight weekly time schedule to adhere to and a rota for the staff and students was compiled to ensure we had sufficient support to meet these deadlines. As well as hot meals, picnic bags and home cooking kits were prepared by students and staff at King’s.
The original objective was to provide 2,600 meals each week. However, demand quickly exceeded expectations and over 4,000 meals were eventually prepared each week.
The success of the Summer Programme strengthened the relationship between all partners involved and also identified the need to continue this vital support service to Gloucester families who came to rely on it.
Subsequently, King’s staff and pupils cooked a further 2,500 meals over the 2021 Christmas holidays and on December 20th we organised a Christmas party for 50 children in the School Hall. King’s staff and pupils again helped to prepare and serve the meals and King’s families donated a gift for each child.
Impact
- Over the 2021 summer holidays 16,000 meals were cooked by staff and students (significantly up from an initial estimate of 10,000).
- A Christmas party was hosted, with entertainment and activities for 50 disadvantaged children, with a gift for everyone donated by King’s families.
- Over the Christmas holidays 2,500 meals were cooked by staff and students.
However, the project is more than just the physical cooking and delivery of meals and activities, it is bringing together different agencies in the community, each with their own resources and areas of expertise, to make a big impact on the lives of many children.
King’s staff, pupils and their families have always embraced opportunities to contribute to the wider community and the School has a long history of supporting charitable causes with both practical assistance and financial help. Since August, however, King’s School pupils have been more generous than ever, providing much needed support to their neighbours in the community.
