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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Ruby Flanagan

UK city giving out free food parcels with enough to feed a family for 4 days

A UK city is giving out food parcels this Christmas containing enough to feed a family for four days.

Birmingham City Council will be giving out the items to parents whose children qualify for free school meals.

Through the Household Support Fund - cash from the Government to help struggling households, plus council funding - around 1,900 food parcels will be given out to families over the Christmas break.

The council says these food parcels, alongside match-funding parcels which are being provided through the Holiday Activities and Food programme, will provide 30,000 meals to those most vulnerable this winter.

Birmingham City Council will be handing out 1,900 food parcels this winter (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Eligible parents of the food parcel scheme should have already received a code from their child's school before the end of the term to register for the parcel and Birmingham Council say the food parcels have already begun to be delivered to eligible households over the last week.

It is not yet confirmed what will be included in the food parcels delivered through the scheme.

The support offered by the council is through its “Bring it on Brum” programme which aims to help families have “fulfilling, active, fun-filled and healthy school holidays”.

The “Bring it on Brum” programme will also be hosting hundreds of free events for children this Christmas with the events consisting of indoor and outdoor games, cookery classes, arts and crafts, sports, fitness and dance, health and wellbeing, quizzes, park activities, and nature trails.

Birmingham Council says each of these activities will also offer a hot meal or snack to children if they would like one.

Cllr Karen McCarthy, cabinet member for children, young people and families, said: "Everyone deserves a good break and school holidays are better when there’s a great choice of things to do to keep children and young people active.

“Being able to support families with children is particularly important in the cost of living crisis and as winter really starts to bite.

"I am so pleased that we are using some of the Household Support Fund to help schools help families over winter, and I know the response from schools has been really positive."

The Household Support Fund is aimed at helping those who are the most vulnerable to the rising cost of living such as those on certain benefits, pensioners, and children (Getty Images)

Additionally, some of the latest Household Support Fund allocations will also be given to schools across Birmingham for them to support families over the winter.

More than £600,000 from the council's Household Support Fund is also being directed to schools in the most deprived areas, which could be spent on food and fuel vouchers and other essentials.

The Government recently announced a further £421million funding to its Household Support Fund which is distributed to local authorities in the UK to help those most vulnerable to the rising cost of living.

Each council can spend the money however they like with eligibility varying between each authority.

Several councils are offering food voucher schemes, support with energy costs, help with the cost of fuel and much more, you can find out what help your local council is providing through their website.

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