Hands up Against Holiday Hunger Appeal

The words aren’t usually associated, but ‘holiday’ and ‘hunger’ often go hand-in-hand for too many of Wales’ 76,000 children eligible for free school meals.

Most children from low-income families benefit from a free school breakfast and dinner, but there are no free meals outside term-time. A family with two children has to find money for an extra 20 meals a week – stretching their limited budgets to breaking point.

Often, when school holidays start, regular meals stop.

Over the summer, many children went hungry. This Christmas, their parents will be forced to choose between heating their home, a few festive treats or three meals a day. The effects of not eating well last well beyond the school holidays, blighting a child’s health and academic potential for life.

Hand-outs are not enough to create long-term change.

In the new year, we’ll be launching a new project to find solutions.

You can have a hand in helping us end the scandal of holiday hunger.

We’ve already persuaded the Welsh government to reinstate school uniform grants for poor children. By donating to our project, you will help us achieve a result for holiday meal provision too.

We have space for 200 hands on our virtual Christmas tree – for just £10 you can put yours up. We’ll even send you a little wooden hand to hang up at home as a token of our gratitude.