Tesco helps to fight child hunger in Kildare

With school holidays in full swing, and school holiday hunger a worrying factor for many Kildare families, Tesco Ireland is turning its attention to helping Family Resource Centres, which support families with much-needed household essentials.

To give a helping hand to children and families outside of the school term, Tesco has created the Stronger Starts Summer Food Collection in partnership with a network of Family Resource Centres to ensure local communities are supported.

The groups participating in Kildare are St Vincent de Paul Celbridge, Curragh Pride Resource Centre, Balyna Volunteers (BREDA FRC), Naas Child & Family Project and Newbridge Resource Centre.

Customers, if they ‘have a little spare they can share’, are kindly asked to purchase one extra non-perishable food item and donate it to the Food Collection trolley in stores across Kildare until 8 September, to support families and neighbours in their local community.

The Irish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) index suggests that one-fifth of children in Ireland have gone to bed hungry because of a lack of available food. 

In a recent survey with a sample of Family Resource Centres around the country, all (100%) respondents said they see an increased need for food supports during the summer months and the majority (77%) said there are children within their communities who do not have access to three meals a day.

Since the Stronger Starts Summer Food Collection launched in stores on 17 June, the top five most donated foods are pasta, cereals, beans/peas, pasta sauces, and tinned fish.