Families under pressure to find food in summer

With the school holidays in full swing, a charity is running 'family fun days' to help those struggling with the cost of food over the summer break.

YMCA Cheltenham is hosting park-based events, which allow children to play outside and enjoy free, healthy food with their family.

Rob Charsley, head of communities, health and wellbeing at the charity, said 67 children and their families had attended an event in one week alone.

Meanwhile, in Somerset, Radstock Food Club said the increased cost of living had seen a rise in the number of people requiring their service, with more than 100 families now receiving food from the facility.

Charsley said 18% of children in Cheltenham and 17% of Gloucester children experience very low food security.

"Summertime is a great and fun time for children, but it's also a difficult time for parents [dealing] with financial pressures and food poverty," he said.

"There can be real pressures for families to find those positive activities and be providing healthy food for children, and it all comes at a cost."

Charsley said the 'family fun day' events were proving "a real help for our community".

"It's great fun and really satisfying when you've managed to feed all those families as well."

Atlanta, who attended the event with her two children, raised concerns about the quality and price of food.

"It just goes off really quickly," she said.

"It is quite difficult because it's so pricey to get all the healthy stuff, whereas the cheap stuff - the junk food - is just cheap, so it's easier to buy that."

In Somerset, Sofia Perkins manages Radstock Food Club, which provides food from supermarkets and supplier-surplus to families and older people in need.

She said there "definitely" seems to be less stigma when it comes to food banks than previously.

"There's more people [going to food banks] - people are less worried about accessing it."

But Perkins said the increased demand for food among families was concerning, claiming Radstock was "one of the lowest income places in the country".

"People can't afford your standard healthy food, which means people are eating quick, convenient food, which is no good for them," she said.

"Being able to provide this for everybody really does make a big difference."

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