City Catering Southampton goes to parliament

"As schools wind down for the summer holidays, thousands of families who receive free school meals will be worried about how they're going to feed their children, let alone take them on holiday"

- Sharon Hodgson, MP

Yesterday I had the honour of being invited to attend the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on School Food in the Palace of Westminster. It was quite something to be there representing our Member schools, and the children and families we feed during term and holiday time. 

To be in the room with like-minded organisations, influencers, and potential policymakers was a huge privilege - and something that we've been striving towards for months. We left the 2-hour meeting buzzing with ideas, key messages, and an even greater fire in our bellies about spearheading the campaign to end 'holiday hunger' in Southampton.

We're back in the office today getting ready to cook for local families touched by food poverty during the summer holidays. And we're applying for grant funding to help our not-for-profit organisation feed even more children that need a hot meal.

But it's not enough - across the UK, 3 million children might go hungry this summer until school restarts.

What's positive from yesterday's APPG meeting, led by Sharon Hodgson MP, is that the movement around food poverty is starting to gain momentum. We heard from Magic Breakfast, Family Action, The Food Foundation, and the School Food Plan Alliance.  It's reassuring to know we're all focused on the same issues, and we're all passionate about ending child hunger in the UK.

Follow us on Twitter to hear more about how we're addressing holiday hunger in Southampton this summer.

I'll be back in Parliament for the next APPG meeting in October... In the meantime, pass it on: we're seeking corporate sponsors to fund more holiday clubs and hot meals around the city.