We have teamed up with Blackburn Rovers Community Trust to deliver much needed Christmas food boxes to the local community in Blackburn as part of the Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) in the area.
From Monday 20th December over 120 local children, who are now on school Christmas holidays, attend Blackburn Rovers for a fun-packed schedule of activities. Our Team at Turtle Bay Blackburn have provided 120 precooked meals for the children and young people to take home on Wednesday 22nd December.
It comprises pre-prepared and cooked mac and cheese with a special recipe card including details of how to reheat it and add garnish at home on Thursday and is part of the scheme’s aim to ensure the children can have fun and a nutritious meal at home.
School holidays can be pressure points for some families because of increased costs (such as food and childcare) and reduced incomes. For some children that can lead to a holiday experience gap, with children from disadvantaged families: less likely to access organised out-of-school activities, more likely to experience ‘unhealthy holidays’ in terms of nutrition and physical health, more likely to experience social isolation.
The free holiday clubs are a response to this issue and evidence suggests that they can have a positive impact on children and young people and that they work best when they: provide consistent and easily accessible enrichment activities, cover more than just breakfast or lunch, involve children (and parents) in food preparation.
Julian Pace our General Manager in Blackburn said:
“Our partnership with Blackburn Rovers Community Trust will ensure that local children enjoy hot, nutritious meals in the run-up to Christmas at the Holiday Club. Our teams have pulled together to create 120 Mac and Cheese Boxes. It’s been a particularly hard year for a lot of people in the area and we wanted to help out the club’s invaluable work in the local community.”
Deborah Blades, Community & Income Development Manager at Blackburn Rovers said:
“Our partnership with Turtle Bay goes from strength to strength. Since they reopened in Blackburn, they have been instrumental in our events and fundraising, helping us to continue inspiring change in our community. It’s an absolute pleasure to work alongside an organisation that shares the same social values as our own, and we look forward to continuing on our mission to achieve sustainable social change, together.”
