Christians in Dudley are working together to help tackle Holiday Hunger in the borough.
During school holidays, children from poorer families who would usually receive a free meal at school often go without a cooked meal and many experience acute hunger because their parents simply can’t afford to feed them. Some studies claim that up to 1 in 8 children are not getting enough to eat during the school holidays.
A group of churches in Dudley have received funding to work together in 2020 to provide Holiday Hunger Clubs for children from some of the poorest parts of the borough, in an attempt to tackle the problem.
The Holiday Clubs, called “Revive”, will be run by volunteers from churches all over the Dudley borough and will provide 3 days of fun-filled activities, games and most importantly, a nutritious hot meal for every child that attends. Children in receipt of the Pupil Premium at their school, which entitles them to a free school meal, will be able to attend the Revive Holiday Clubs completely free of charge.
Revive Holiday Clubs are planned for February Half Term in the centre of Dudley, in the Summer holidays on the Wrens Nest Estate and in October Half Term on the Kate’s Hill Estate – three of the most deprived areas in the borough of Dudley.
The project has been spearheaded by Lisa Parkes for the Love Dudley network, who believes passionately in the role the Church has to play in tackling food poverty and holiday hunger.
“To try to tackle holiday hunger on this scale is not something only one church can achieve. It has to be a joined up effort, with churches working together in unity. Unity and Poverty are two things incredibly close to the heart of God,” explains Lisa.
As well as providing a nutritious meal, Revive Holiday Clubs will also enable the local church to meet the needs of the same children who are also deprived of experiences and activities which cause them to fall behind in their development.
Lisa was recently interviewed on stage at our Together 2020 event on 4th January at Bethel Convention Centre about Revive, as well as being featured on a video about food poverty that was premiered at the event. You can watch the full video here.
Place are already filling up fast with children from local primary schools in the centre of Dudley. You can find out more information about Revive Holiday Clubs by clicking the box below.