PRIMARY school children from more than 160 families in Warrington were given the chance to have nutritional lunchtime meals during the school holidays.

Thanks to a generous donation from the nuclear industry benevolent fund (TNIBF) to Warrington Foodbank, children who receive free school meals during term time were given food which would make five lunches a week for each child in the family.

The foodbank worked with six schools in the areas where there is a high uptake of free school meals.

Head teachers in the schools invited all parents whose youngsters qualified for free meals in term time to take part in the scheme, designed to help families cope with the added expense of the long summer holiday.

Elaine Price, secretary and manager of the TNIBF, explained some of the reasoning behind the donations to the Warrington Foodbank.

She said: “As part of our 60th anniversary year celebrations, the fund has donated £5,000 to the Warrington supporting their Holiday Lunch Packs 4 Kids schemes for children.

"We know how hard it can be for parents on low incomes to feed their children during school holidays so we have worked with the foodbank to make life a little easier for families.

“We are here to help anyone who has worked in the nuclear industry and their families and we want to raise awareness of our work. Joining with local organisations in areas where there is a high number of current and former nuclear industry employees will signpost them to us for help and advice.

"We have a website at tnibf.org and a free confidential helpline at 0800 587 6040”

David McDonald, project manager at the Tanning Court warehouse said: “We are overwhelmed by the size of the donation from the benevolent fund and we know that the food parcels we have been able to supply have helped families in the area.

"School holidays can put extra pressure on parents, particularly those who receive free meals at lunchtime during term time. We have tried to provide tins and packets which will form the ingredients for simple nutritious meals that children will enjoy. We couldn’t have done it without the donation from TNIBF.”

Foodbank volunteer Trish Cockayne added: “I have been involved in the distribution of the food and many mums have told me that the bags have really helped them feed their youngsters throughout the holiday.”