Oti Mabuse visits Sainsbury’s funded kids food and activity summer club
With the school holidays in full swing, Oti Mabuse visited Somerville Youth & Play Provision in South London to meet the children who are benefitting from Sainsbury’s funding this summer break.
Oti, who is a continued supporter of Comic Relief, surprised members of Somerville, speaking to children and their families about the tremendous support that the initiative provides to them throughout the school holidays. During the visit she engaged with the children attending the club, helping the older kids to prepare hearty plates of spaghetti bolognese, with a side salad, for all to enjoy for lunch. She also chatted to parents, hearing their personal stories about the joy and safety that Somerville provides and how the initiative has been helping to alleviate the struggles faced by families across the UK since the school term ended.
Initiatives such as Somerville, offer vital support given there are 900,000 children in England experiencing food poverty who aren’t eligible for free school meals. Meanwhile, those who do receive them are only supported by the government’s Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme for four weeks of the six-week summer holiday break, highlighting the pressing need for extra support.
Additionally, research by the Department of Education found that during school holiday breaks, children from low-income households are less likely to take part in organised out-of-school activities, are more likely to have ‘unhealthy holidays’ due to lack of nutrition and physical health and are also more likely to be socially isolated.1
Somerville, which kicked off its summer holiday clubs last month, is just one of the initiatives that Sainsbury’s Nourish the Nation programme with Comic Relief supports. The club is free to attend for children who are eligible for the government HAF programme and helps to provide nutritious meals and enriching activities for children experiencing food poverty during the school holidays. Somerville, and other similar initiatives, are delivered around the UK by community foundations, led by the London Community Foundation.
Oti Mabuse, Comic Relief supporter, said: “Seeing the vital work that the staff and volunteers at Somerville do, and the impact that their services have on an individual level, has been truly inspirational. The school holidays are a difficult time for families facing food poverty, but it’s amazing to see how initiatives such as Somerville, supported by funding from Sainsbury’s and Comic Relief’s Nourish the Nation programme, help bring joy and excitement to the summer break, as well as peace of mind for parents.
“It was lovely to help the older children prepare lunch for the whole group and see how they’re learning useful cooking skills while providing a nutritious meal to give everyone the fuel they need to engage with the fun activities on offer.”
Ondre Xavier-Foster, Volunteer and Mentor at Somerville, said: “Today the kids Kyle and Elijah are learning to cook spaghetti bolognese. There are staff on site to assist them, but mainly they’re just learning how to cook, a basic life skill that you need to survive in life and adulthood. It’s a wonderful thing because not a lot of youth clubs will do this or have the facilities and a kitchen to operate this.”
This summer, Sainsbury’s rallied its customers to support children and families experiencing food poverty, and committed to donating over £2.5m to providing over one million meals during the school holidays. Customers can continue to help Sainsbury’s on its mission by donating what they can at tills, online or via the Nectar app. A donation of just £2.50 could help to provide a child with a healthy and nutritious meal.
Wider initiatives still in place over the rest of the school holidays include kids eating for free in Sainsbury’s cafés until Tuesday 3rd September, with the purchase of any adult hot main meal. This promotion alone is expected to give away approximately 18,000 kids meals, either hot meals or lunch bags.2
1 Department of Education, 2022
2 Usually, adult hot main meals cost £5.50 and kids meals cost £3.50, so customers with children will be saving £3.50
