Sainsbury’s and Comic Relief have committed to donating over £2.5m to help children access nutritious food by providing over one million meals in the school holidays.
The supermarket giant is also working with the British charity to fund organisations such as Feeding Britain, The Bread and Butter Thing, and London Community Foundations, to provide healthy meals and free enriching activities for children over the summer break.
The funding will also help launch five new food club hubs which will run all-year-round and provide long-term solutions to help improve families’ access to food.
Throughout July, Sainsbury’s is urging customers to get involved by donating what they can at tills, online or via Nectar, and until 23 July, the grocer will donate 25p to Comic Relief for every purchase of selected fruit and vegetables.
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Until 30 July, supplier Mars Food will also be donating £100k to the charity from the proceeds of Dolmio product sales in Sainsbury’s.
Wider initiatives in place over the school holidays include kids eating for free in Sainsbury’s cafés until 3 September with the purchase of any adult hot main meal – a promotion which alone, is expected to give away approximately 18,000 kids meals.
Sainsbury’s director of corporate responsibility and sustainability Ruth Cranston said: “Working with Comic Relief, we’re able to provide nourishing meals and activities throughout the school holidays. The work of the organisations we’re funding will be transformative to the lives of so many families across the country, ensuring that children return to school well-fed and ready to learn.
“In total this Spring and Summer, we will have committed to donating over £4.2m to supporting children with access to nutritious food, through donations to Comic Relief. We hope that all the funding will help towards building lasting change for these children and their families.”
