Children will go hungry this summer warn Bristol food banks

Food Banks in Bristol are warning that hundreds of children across the city will not have enough food to eat this summer holidays.

Many families whose children receive free school meals will be faced with a desperate situation in the holidays according to the directors of food banks and projects in the city.

Food vouchers are given out to families most at risk by schools and health professionals and charities say more and more families are being referred to them every week. They expect to be stretched to their very limits this summer. “Demand always peaks in the holidays” says Emma Murray at the Bristol NW Food Bank. This year they are expecting the situation to be much more acute.

“We know of one boy who during the last holidays hardly ate” she says. “The family were surviving on beans and bread for the week. It's shocking that this is happening in Bristol.”

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At the moment the charity has full stocks but this changes on a week to week basis. “We are walking a tightrope” Emma says “In the last financial year we helped more than 1300 people and we expect to help even more this year.”

It's the same story at other food projects in the city. Hardly a stones throw from the shops and restaurants of Cabot Circus is The Bristol City Mission in St Judes. From here 'The Matthew Tree Project' helps feed dozens of people every week.

More than 50 agencies across Bristol refer people to them for help. The food store also supports the children of 12 Bristol schools who receive free school meals by providing them with a main meal each day the school is closed for the holidays.

This summer resources will have to go further than ever and they are calling for more donations and support from businesses to help them cope. In this video we go behind the scenes at the Matthew Tree Project to discover that for some children in the city having a holiday means going hungry.