Community trust provides sledge load of food and gifts to vulnerable families across Chesterfield

Sliding into 2022 is a project being delivered by Chesterfield FC Community Trust to help the families of children who receive free school meals and who are on special care plans.

Using HAF (Holiday Activity and Food programme) funding from Derbyshire County Council, the Trust has prepared around 250 sledges loaded with ingredients for a three-course meal, together with other gifts, including a family board game and a specially produced calendar featuring some simple meal ideas.

And, they are now being distributed to families across Chesterfield to help support them over the remaining festive period and into the New Year.

Rebecca White, the Trust’s HAF project manager, said: "[The food has been obtained] through Aldi who have been absolutely fantastic. Their communication has been brilliant and they’ve managed to source all the products that we needed which I think, at this time of year, has been particularly hard for all supermarkets.

"It’s so lovely to see people come in, smiling, picking up their sledges. The communication that’s gone on over the past month with families has been fantastic and they’ve been so excited about it.”

She added: “There’s a sledge as part of the activity, hopefully we’ll get some snow this year, a family board game, there’s ingredients for a three-course meal so the family can hopefully cook together and create that. We’ve had calendars made up which have got simple meal ideas on every month.

"Families with children under nine will receive Chester’s den pass which they can use and receive a hot meal until the end of March, we’ve got chocolates, we’ve got a treat, there’s a celebration cake and a non-alcoholic bottle of fizz to toast the New Year as a family.”

Families of children at Spire Junior School are just some of those benefitting from the initiative.

Posting on social media, headteacher Dave Shaw said: “Having a break from Twitter during the hols but had to share this amazing act of kindness from @ChesterfieldFC @spireitestrust.

“We had pastoral staff delivering sledges filled with a three course meal and a board game to our most vulnerable families, donated from them.”

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