Oasis Academy Connaught partners with Square Food Foundation in time of need

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has affected everybody in some way, but especially the more vulnerable families with children who normally rely on free school meals (FSM) daily from their local school.

Since the schools were forced to close for an indefinite period due to the spread of COVID-19, children who usually have their breakfast and lunch at school are at increased risk of going hungry.

But now Knowle West cookery school and charity the Square Food Foundation is trying to fill the free school meal gap for people in the community.

Square Food Foundation started life in 1998, Quartier Vert on Whiteladies Road in Bristol. QV Cookery School (as it was then known) quickly gathered pace and popularity and was soon offering a busy programme of classes and courses to people from all walks of life.

This week it launched its new #SquareMeals initiative to help vulnerable families cope with the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic following school closures.

The community cookery school has repurposed its professional kitchen in Daventry Road to prepare and supply a daily meal for up to 100 local children and families who normally rely on free school meals.

The weekly cost of this initiative is £4,000 with ‘in-kind’ help already pledged by partners including local food businesses Friska, A.David and the Jolly Hog, as well as charity the Matthew Tree Project.

The meals are collected from Square Food Foundation kitchen by school staff from Oasis Academy Connaught, which has been working round the clock to keep families and children safe and well during the crisis. The staff then drive them round to those individual family homes that they consider are most in need.

George Fraser, Principal at Oasis Academy Connaught, commented saying; “Parents are being laid off every day. They’re applying for Universal Credit but may have to wait up to six weeks for the money to come through.”

“Children who usually rely on school for breakfast and lunch are at risk of going hungry, so this service has never been more important.”

James Stuart, Fruit & Veg Wholesalers A.David, said; “I think that making sure our children are properly fed is an extremely important part of their upbringing – food inequality has been proven to affect everything from exam scores to prevalence of anti-social behaviour.”

“If we can do anything, however small, to help Bristol’s most vulnerable children at this difficult time, I’ll be happy.”

Now, 100 people per day benefit from the meals but the demand is already higher than the kitchen and its volunteers can fulfil. Square Food Foundation is aiming to scale up the service as we it gets to grips with processing the daily donations of surplus food but funding is an issue. In order to continue this service into the long term, it needs to raise significant funds.

Barny Haughton, Founder of Square Food Foundation, added; “We’ve been overwhelmed by messages of support and people asking how they can help. A donation, however small, to the Square Meals project will help provide whole families with at least one proper meal per day and keep our community from going hungry.”

Square Food Foundation has started an urgent appeal for Bristol residents who would like to support the #SquareMeals initiative and help keep it running while the pandemic continues. A donation of £30 could pay for a month of meals for one child.

Original article by Mark Taylor, Bristol Post – 28^th March 2020