With Emanuel open to a number of key workers’ children, we would like to extend our efforts to support those most in need in our community by preparing daily hot meals for 20 vulnerable families at our partner schools. For just £5 per family of four, our wonderful catering team can provide a family with a healthy and delicious meal.

Falconbrook Primary is one of our partner schools where over 60% of the children are entitled to Free School Meals (FSM). As you may know, during the pandemic, parents of children on Free School Meals are eligible for £15 supermarket vouchers per week to replace the FSM provision. However, the programme has been tricky to implement, resulting in unforeseeable delays in distribution. Providing vouchers also poses its own difficulties as many families find it difficult to go to the supermarket to use them. For example, a single mother with three or more children finds shopping and social distancing extremely challenging. Many parents are not going outside for fear of the virus or because a family member or their child suffers from a severe medical condition. Falconbrook has heard from a number of families that the strain of running a household and maintaining learning – which is particularly difficult for parents who speak little or no English or who were educated in another country – is becoming too much. Providing a hot, nutritious family meal will go a long way to alleviating this stress and worry.

With your help, our plan is to provide 80 meals a day to vulnerable families at our local partner schools, on a rotation, for the next five weeks. If primary schools stay closed in June, we will review our plans with the view of extending this provision. The partner schools to date include Falconbrook, Langford and Christ Church Primaries. Our catering team will prepare the meals and our staff will deliver them to the relevant schools for distribution to families. Each school has a plan in place to ensure that the families most in need receive the meals in a timely and safe manner.

It costs just £5 to provide a healthy and delicious meal for a family of four. If you are interested in supporting our hot meals scheme, please scroll down to donate.

  • £5 provides a meal for a family of four
  • £20 provides four families with a meal
  • £50 provides 10 families with a meal
  • £100 provides 20 families with a meal
  • £500 provides 20 families with a meal for a week