Winner Winner Free School Dinner

A score line for the history books. FSM 74 – 2 BFF.

74 children were provided with Free School Meals over 2 weeks of Bloomsbury Football Foundation’s Easter Holiday Camps.

The recently concluded Easter Break saw Bloomsbury Football’s first Holiday Camps of the year following the easing Lockdown restrictions, at Market Road and Acland Burghley School.

For that reason, they were always going to be special.

But what has been borne by the lockdowns, through the selfless heroism of England superstar and MBE Marcus Rashford, is the alarming issue of child hunger in this country.

This situation had been likely to worsen during the school holidays. Holiday hunger – when children lack adequate nutrition without the free meals provided at school – is a pressing issue.

With help of Market Road Football Pitches, Acland Burghley School, King Solomon Academy and Kitchen Social, we were able to provide for 74 children a ‘take & make’ food box. Of the 282 children who participated our Easter Holiday Camps, 26% receive Free School Meals.

Our Holiday Hubs were located in and near the areas with the largest concentration of pupils eligible for FSM in the borough. Running our holiday activities in those locations ensured that children and young people had access to both quality physical activities and food during the school breaks. Given these and other circumstances, many participants would not otherwise have had these opportunities if it were not for our programme. For instance, Acland Burghley School is in the top 10 schools with the most pupils eligible for FSM in Camden.

Our programmes, which have eliminated the most common barriers to youth sport, participation costs and accessibility to high quality services, are not only inclusive, bringing together children from different backgrounds, cultures, ethnicities, races, different mental and physical abilities, religions, gender and economic status, but promote healthy eating with greater knowledge of health and nutrition, and have fed those most impoverished.

Our aim is to use the power of football to improve the lives of children and young people in London, enabling them to live active lifestyles and pursue their full potential. We’re especially proud to be able to impact communities through the providing meals which meet the School Food Standards, as well as unrivalled access to physical and enriching activity and age-appropriate nutritional education.