Kitchen Social campaign launched to tackle holiday hunger in London
The campaign is looking to raise £1 million in a bid to fund holiday meal clubs across the capital as statistics reveal that 500,000 London children struggle for food during school holidays.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “It is unacceptable for any child in our great city to ever experience hunger or social isolation. Equally, it is not right that in a city as rich as ours, some parents are having to skip meals themselves to feed their children as they cannot afford a decent meal.
“Preventing young Londoners from going hungry during the holidays is a challenge that can be overcome by bringing together communities across the capital to look out for some of the city’s most disadvantaged children.
“I welcome the Kitchen Social programme, which will help to tackle food inequality and provide London’s youngsters with healthy meals over the holidays, allowing them to flourish upon their return to school”.
Over the next three years the Kitchen Social project will identify and support 330 community organisations across London to create a healthy food and social development offer during the school holidays.
Additional benefits will include learning about healthy eating, skills development, social inclusion, identification of children and young people in need and the development of staff, volunteers and local capacity.
The campaign launched with the support of farmer and ex-JLS member, JB Gill and youth board member, and Junior Masterchef Finalist, TJ Dobson.