Imagine the first day back to school after October half term. The classroom is bustling with kids, and excited chatter about the holidays fills the room. “We went to the cinema.” “We picked pumpkins.” “I got this really cool outfit for trick or treating and we got loads of sweets!” “My mum took us to a theme park.” But listen carefully and not everyone is talking.
We know that one in five children across the UK are facing hunger and hardship, and for the kids whose families don’t have enough money to live on, school holidays may well be a very different experience than for their peers. When affording essentials like heating and eating is a real challenge, the chance of going on a fun day out becomes far less likely.
And to not be able to join in with that classroom chatter about “what we did on our holidays”, further compounds the isolation that can come from living in poverty. Nearly half of all households experiencing hunger include children under the age of 16 and for parents, the effort to ensure their kids do not miss out is yet another additional stress.
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It was for that reason that our charities, Trussell and English Heritage got together in 2023 to offer free days out for people who access food banks, whether they are an individual or a family. This year more than 100 different food banks in the Trussell community have taken part, and thousands of people have enjoyed free visits to world-renowned sites like Stonehenge, Osborne – Queen Victoria’s seaside home on the Isle of Wight – Corbridge Roman Town on Hadrian’s Wall, and Clifford’s Tower in York. Young and old have also been entertained by English Heritage events whether that’s medieval jousts, building castles out of toy bricks, or this Halloween, spooky woodland walks.
As the charity which cares for over four hundred of England’s greatest historic sites, English Heritage wants to ensure that as many people as possible can experience and enjoy them. Although visitor and members numbers have increased, for many the opportunity of a day out remains out of reach. So last year, English Heritage and Trussell developed a scheme that would ensure that people experiencing hardship could access one of these special places near to them for free. It’s aimed at helping people who may be most in need of some time out with their family and friends to be able to enjoy a trip without worrying about the cost.
At Trussell, we know people who are unable to afford food are also going without other essentials and this takes its toll on people’s wellbeing and their mental health. While we work together to ensure everyone can afford the essentials – we are delighted to able to partner with English Heritage to provide opportunities that bring some joy to people.
