Fit & Fed: Tackling 'Holiday Hunger' & Providing Free Multi-Sports Activities for Children & Young People

The Pitch

Problem statement

Our Fit & Fed programme is based in Somers Town which is one of the most deprived areas in Camden. We know that many families struggle with isolation, lack of social interaction, limited access to free local activities and 'holiday hunger' during the school breaks. Our programme provides a vital source of respite to parents and young people in the area with our free multi-sports activity camp which includes a healthy meal each day. By offering this project we are able to support the local community, especially those children from low income families during the school holidays, helping them to stay active and fed.

Solution

Our project provides a wide range of free school holiday activities and a nutritious meal for participants every day. This ensures that young people are constructively engaged over the school holidays and have a guaranteed meal which helps to relieve some of the pressure on families who would usually rely on free school meals during term time. The funding we receive would go towards covering the cost of for venue hire, day trips, enrichment activities, staff and volunteer costs, marketing, and cleaning supplies.

Why are we best placed to deliver?

We've been successfully running this project since 2017 and it has always been well attended and we have many returning participants because they enjoy it so much. We also have very good local connections within the community which opens up further opportunities for us in terms of partnering up with other organisations who can assist with extra enrichment in our projects. Our coaches and volunteers are all local to the area and have a good understanding of the different issues affecting our community which means they can more easily relate.

Focus Areas

Delivery plan

Budget breakdown

Beneficiaries

40 people

Expected impact

-This programme is an integral part in our local community, providing young people with a much needed outlet outside of the home which is safe and supervised -Children may be experiencing loss of friendships and social interaction during school holidays and our programme helps to bridge the gap until they return to school in September -Our programme supports low income families to feel less isolated as children are fed at the project -Our project reduces anti–social behaviour in the area as the young people have somewhere to go and participate in enriching and engaging activities -The parents/carers of the participants are also indirect beneficiaries as having free activities for their children means they can continue to access work/education etc during school holidays without having to worry about the cost of food or childcare Our project has been fully evaluated on its impact by the University College London, who have given us tools to measure our impact in the community

Track record

Testimonials from previous participants and parents/carers: "I've been coming to AYBI's Fit & Fed for a while now. It keeps you active and fit and it's lots of fun." “Fit & Fed is really inspiring because sometimes you don’t know what type of sport you’re best at but here you can try out every type of sport”. "My Children really enjoyed their time, will bring them back for future half-term activities" "The staff were amazing, the children had a fantastic time!"