Free food and activities for vulnerable children

A £1.4m scheme will give thousands of vulnerable children in North Yorkshire free holiday activities and food.

The money from the Department for Education (DfE) programme addresses some of the challenges faced by low-income families during school holidays.

Eligible children will be offered four hours of activities per day for four days at Easter, 16 days during the summer holidays and four days at Christmas, North Yorkshire Council said.

The council's Marie-Ann Jackson said without the grant "these activities would not be available".

She added it would offer "valued, free-to-access activities and food to children and families on low incomes when free school meals are not available".

The scheme, known as FEAST in North Yorkshire, is delivered as a partnership between the council and local community providers and gives free places to all free school meal-eligible children, up to the age of 16.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the grant was due to be formally accepted at a meeting of senior councillors and officers from the children and young people's service, with FEAST vouchers then sent to eligible families by email or text.

Following successful pilots between 2018 and 2020 in 2021, the government announced a funding settlement of more than £200m each year for the programme across the UK.

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