Organisers at the Sid Valley Food Bank are preparing to launch an initiative aimed at helping low-income families over the summer holidays.

Following the success of a similar scheme last year, the charity will help 25 families who may otherwise struggle to make ends meet during the six-week break.

Volunteers will provide each family with a food box every week, which will include fresh produce, along with a menu to provide recipe ideas.

Food bank manager Lois Swarbrick said the summer could be a difficult time financially for parents whose children would normally receive a free school meal during term time.

She said: “For those families, their income and benefits don’t change over the summer, but the children are at home for six weeks.

“It can be an expensive few weeks as children want to be going out and doing things, and they have to provide more food.

“We feel that by supporting these families during the school holidays, we may stop people having to use our service once the kids go back to school.”

The food bank contacted Sid Valley schools to ask approximately 100 families in the area, who qualify for free school meals, if they wanted help.

The scheme will cost £2,000, and because the charity will be supplying fresh produce each week, Lois said the decision had been taken to buy all of the food for the boxes instead of relying on donations.

She added: “We would be very grateful for any additional cash donations to support this initiative.

“We have the money available to run this, but any contributions people wish to make will help ensure we have the money to do things like the Christmas baskets later in the year.”

Donations can be made in person to the food bank, which runs from the Leigh Browne room of the Unitarian Chapel, in All Saints Road, on Mondays from 10.30am to 11.30am and on Fridays from 12.30pm to 3pm.