£10,000 scheme launched to ensure Hartlepool children don't go hungry during school holidays

Applications are now open for a £10,000 scheme which helps to ensure children across the town don’t go hungry during the Easter school holidays.
By Peter Tennick
Published 21st Mar 2019, 13:59 BST
Updated 21st Mar 2019, 14:03 BST
Coun Brenda Harrison as 10,000 scheme is launched to ensure Hartlepool children don't go hungry during school holidaysCoun Brenda Harrison as 10,000 scheme is launched to ensure Hartlepool children don't go hungry during school holidays
Coun Brenda Harrison as 10,000 scheme is launched to ensure Hartlepool children don't go hungry during school holidays

The Filling the Holiday Gap scheme is designed to replace the term-time free school meals received by children in Hartlepool.

It aims to provide funding to public sector and voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations and other charitable groups to help them ensure families they are working with don’t suffer acute food poverty during school holiday periods.

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A total of £10,000 is being made available for the Easter scheme, and the deadline for applications to be received is midday on Thursday, March 28.

Organisations and groups interested in taking part in the scheme can find further details – including an application form – at www.hartlepool.gov.uk/fillingthegap2019

The Easter scheme follows on from the success of several others which ran during the summer 2017, summer 2018 and Christmas 2018 school holidays.

Councillor Christopher Akers-Belcher, leader of the council and chair of the Finance and Policy Committee, said: “I am delighted that, despite the financial pressures which the council continues to face, we are once again making money available to support this scheme which is of vital importance to the most vulnerable families in our town.”

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Councillor Brenda Harrison, Hartlepool Borough Council’s chair of Children’s Services Committee, said: “Our council is determined to stand up for the town’s most hard-pressed families with children, and this was proven by the department recently winning the prestigious national Local Government Chronicle’s Children’s Services of the Year 2019 award.

“Our Filling the Holiday Gap schemes highlight this important commitment to protecting and supporting vulnerable children within the borough, who may often go hungry during school holiday breaks.

“We would urge as many local organisations as possible to apply for this funding opportunity before the deadline of Thursday, March 28.”

For further information or to make an application, please visit www.hartlepool.gov.uk/fillingthegap2019

Related topics:HartlepoolHartlepool Borough Council