Iceland Foods has announced it is supporting parent teacher associations, through ParentKind, by hosting a series of School Supper Clubs this winter. Working alongside the national charity for parent teacher associations, ParentKind, families, kids and staff from schools across the UK are coming together to deliver hot meals for their local community, with all food and drink donated by Iceland.
The initiative was first announced to ParentKind’s network of 12,500 PTAs with the first few schools hosting the School Supper Club the week before Christmas. The first schools that took part included Charlestown Primary Community School in Blackley, Manchester, Malpas Alport Primary School in Malpas, Cheshire, and The Bemrose Primary School in Derby.
Head Teacher at Malpas Alport Primary School, Mrs Nicola Wetton, said: “We were delighted to have supported our local community through this initiative from Iceland and ParentKind, during what is a very difficult year financially. To be able to come together as a community and have a hot meal in a warm place is vital for many families and individuals.”
Over 200 schools applied to the initiative to help save hot dinners, and the School Supper Clubs are continuing to run throughout January and February this year. Schools such as Westlea Primary School in Swindon held theirs on Friday 27th January and Stutton Primary School in Norwich will be inviting members of their communities down for a free hot meal on Friday 10th February.
In October of last year, Iceland revealed more than half of Brits (53%) plan on either reducing or cutting out hot meals completely in the coming months due to rising energy costs.
The research of 2,000 people also showed that over one quarter (27%) say they don’t see any alternative to cutting out hot meals because otherwise they simply won’t be able to afford their energy bills – with the figure nearly double this (40%) for those in the lowest income group.
Richard Walker, Managing Director at Iceland said: “Working with a great network of PTAs is a way to deliver hot meals to communities across the UK, as we know many are struggling to afford the costs that come with cooking at home.
“I want to thank all of the parents and teachers at the schools that are helping us with this initiative, it’s these acts of kindness that will help people through the toughest time of the year.”
John Jolly, Chief Executive at ParentKind said: “As a charity, we’re constantly listening to parents’ views, and the message we’re getting right now is that parents are struggling to make ends meet.
“It has been brilliant to work with Iceland on this initiative, and it’s great to see the difference that a hot meal will make for these schools and their communities. This is a great example of the good that can be done when schools, PTAs and businesses work together.”
The School Supper Club initiative has also received support from The Food Foundation, a charity dedicated to addressing the growing challenges facing the UK’s food system.
Anna Taylor, Executive Director at The Food Foundation, said: “Iceland’s School Supper Clubs are a great idea. Apart from the social pleasure of sharing a good hot meal provided at no cost, the emotional support offered by this initiative in the run up to Christmas will be a lifeline to many struggling parents.
“Food poverty is an increasing problem. Our data shows around four million children are living in homes where getting food is a real struggle, and at least 800,000 are denied free school meals despite their families receiving Universal Credit. We are doing everything we can to expand this vital service.”
