Dumfries & Galloway Press Release
Dumfries and Galloway Council is opening their Holiday Food Fund for applications from third sector organisations who want to help make Christmas within their local community better for all of our most vulnerable families. Organisations from any area within our Region can apply and the funding is aimed to compliment any events and activities which you may be running which directly support our most vulnerable families and young people.
We are offering funding towards the costs of food for pupils from the ages of Primary 1 to S6 from the period of Monday 23 December 2019 until Tuesday 7 January 2020 which would be delivered as either part of your existing Holiday Projects or to enable you to begin new projects within this holiday period.
We will fund 1 meal per day per child / young person at £1.95 per lunch and for Christmas Day we will fund 1 meal per child / young person for the sum of £5.
We know that all of the school holidays, no matter what time of year they happen can be a pressurised time for families in all circumstances. Our Holiday Food Fun will enable more organisations to reach children and young people whose families are facing an unhappy and uncertain time of year. We are hoping that the resulting increased range of events in every area of our region will ensure that families have more of a choice of which activities to attend. Everyone can choose where they want to go to have a day filled with fun and the opportunity to meet their friends and to enjoy their holidays.
Applications are open now and the closing date for submission of organisations completed applications is midnight on Wednesday 4 December 2019. Successful applicants will be informed by Monday 9 December to allow as much time as possible to plan your festivities.
Councillor Andy Ferguson, Chair of Communities Committee, stated;
“This call for applications from our Third Sector Partners continues our commitment as a local authority to ensure that all of our children from the most vulnerable families are continuing to receive warm, substantial meals during each of our holiday periods. Our Council is incredibly committed to supporting all of our children and young people and the continuation of our Holiday Food Programme delivers our pledge to support our families not just during the 38 weeks of Term Time but also during the 14 weeks of holidays which happen throughout the year. We know that the Christmas Holidays are one of the most challenging of all of our holiday times and that parents and carers are under more financial pressure at this time of year than any other. We want to make Christmas 2019 as enjoyable as possible and to help to ease the pressure on families and bring as much happiness as possible to children and young people who would otherwise be facing cold, hungry holidays before they returned to school.”
Councillor John Martin, Vice Chair of Communities Committee stated;
“We are especially happy to work in partnership with all of our third sector partners this year who will be delivering their projects from the heart of their communities who wish to apply to this fund. This funding is available for all groups and organisation who meet our criteria and we want to support as many groups as possible to help make this Christmas as special as we possibly can. This funding is specifically designed to support the delivery of both existing events and activities and new projects which are just beginning so if you are interested, please get in touch – the more that we can support our most vulnerable during what can be the hardest time of year for many, the happier our communities will be”.
Applications Forms and Guidance Notes can be downloaded from;
https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/
If you have any questions on this application process or would like any advice and guidance, please e-mail the Tackling Poverty and Inequalities Team on [email protected].
