Business in the Community (BITC) and its members are calling for the NI Executive to take urgent and immediate action for the benefit of children who receive Free Schools Meals to be supported more fully through the summer months.

In the summer of 2019, BITC members* actively supported a Healthy Summer** pilot project as the issue of children not having the right, or enough, food to eat was already an issue in Northern Ireland.

Kieran Harding, managing director, Business in the Community explains:

“When families, without the support of free school meals don’t have access to sufficient food during the summer months, it results in poor nutrition and learning loss in children. This was already the case for many of our communities in Northern Ireland, and it has been exacerbated further due to the current COVID-19 crisis. We urge the NI Executive not to delay in making a positive decision on this matter and providing the much-needed support to those who need it most.”

**Healthy Summer was a pilot approach supported by the Urban Villages Initiative (The Executive Office) and Business in the Community Northern Ireland (BITCNI) that took place in 2019. It helped community groups in the five Urban Villages areas spanning Belfast and Derry~Londonderry to support families that would mostly access free school meals during term time. Twelve BITC members made donations totalling £28,000 which was matched with £30,000 from the Urban Villages Initiatives