UNISON organiser helps families find half-term meals

A UNISON organiser has set up a website to help families locate free meals during half term. Help Out When School’s Out was set up by UNISON area organiser Jack Horwood and his friends in response to the government’s decision to not extend free school meals to cover school holidays. The website has a postcode search tool that lists the contact details of local businesses offering support to children and families this half term. Inspired by footballer Marcus Rashford’s #EndChildFoodPoverty campaign, over 1,800 businesses are now listed on the site, ranging from cafes, pubs and restaurants to community centres and local football teams. Mr Horwood had the idea for the site last week, immediately after the government’s announcement that it would not be extending free school meal provision. He said: “I saw a local business say that they would be offering free meals and lots of other businesses started doing the same. I thought to myself: ‘wouldn’t it be great if we could map these in some way?’” He then got in touch with a web developer friend and some designers, and, by Saturday afternoon the site was up and running. Jack Horwood at his computer So far, over 74,000 people have searched the site, with an average of around 12 searches per minute. Mr Horwood continued: “The response has been incredible and, if even it means that just one family gets access to a decent meal this half term, then it’s all been worth it.” UNISON national officer for education and...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article News Covid-19 free school meals Source Type: news