A Braehead mum who was heartbroken to discover that children who rely on free school meals are going hungry over the weekends has launched a project to feed them.
Alisha Robertson-McNabney came up with the plan for ‘Ma’s Kitchen Stirling’ on Facebook last week after finding out about the extent to which some children were turning up to school on a Monday having not eaten since finishing up the previous week.
She set up a poll on social media asking who was aware that children, aged from two to 16, were not eating from a Friday lunchtime until a Monday lunchtime and 164 people all replied yes.
Alisha and mum Jane Robertson had heard of a campaign in Falkirk where meals were provided at weekends to those who usually receive free school meals - with Stirling families among those making the trip for food.
Spurred into action, Alisha - who has four girls of her own - decided something had to be done to help.
And she has been inundated with offers of support, including from Stirling’s own former MasterChef contestant, Lisa Addison.
Lisa has now committed to helping out with cooking up hot meals for those attending the drop-offs, with locations in Raploch, St Ninians and Bannockburn currently being mooted.
Alisha said: “We had heard word that people in Stirling were heading to this kitchen in Falkirk because they were struggling to eat at weekends and so I just said a throw-away comment to my kids about if they knew anyone in that position at school.
“They just turned around to me and said it was a common occurrence, so I put up a poll on Facebook and Instagram and there were teachers and social workers saying this is common for some kids not to eat between Friday and Monday.
“We know that some of the schools and social work have things in place and are doing drop-offs, but the ones we are worried about are the ones not referred to social work and whose parents are afraid to say anything.
“It’s the ones in that position that are at risk of falling through the cracks and that is a lot more than you could ever imagine.
“It’s just heartbreaking because we live in a wealthy city and surely in this day and age we can do something to stop kids going hungry at the weekend?”
The plans for the new project are changing every day, with Alisha already expressing thanks to all of those who have expressed interest in helping out - including Lisa, who has been using her own contacts in an effort to support.
“I’m friendly with Lisa and she wanted to get involved with it, she has reached out to people she knows and we’ve already had donations from that”, Alisha continued.
“The plan is for this to be hot, nutritious food - Lisa will make stuff up during the week and then we will just heat it up.
“We don’t want to describe this as a charity, it’s about pulling together to help people, saying to people that if you’re hungry, you can come along to get something to eat and have a chat; we want to make it something not to be embarrassed about.
“I’d like to thank absolutely everyone who has reached out, offered support, pledged donations, given us time.”
Meanwhile, Killearn cooking star Lisa told the Observer: “Alisha posted a story on Instagram asking if anyone was aware that some kids in the Stirling area weren’t eating over the weekend when not in school.
“I messaged her straight away and said whatever you’re doing - I’m in! I’m a Stirling girl and was born and raised there. The people of Stirling really got behind me when it was revealed I was going to be on Masterchef last year, and the support since then has been steadfast.
“I will be cooking on my days off and we, at the time of writing this I think, have premises to store the meals so that they can be handed out to children who need them at weekends. We’ve been inundated with offers of help.
“I’m an ambassador for Ooni and they’ve offered to give us groceries from their website, we’ve also had to many more companies offer to help it’s so surreal.
“This initiative Alisha, Jane and I started came about because we are mums and we can’t stand back and do nothing. It’s 2023. This shouldn’t be happening, but it is and it’s real.”
