Families praise football hub food poverty scheme

Children and parents can eat after school during term time for £2 per meal

Families have welcomed a new project to help tackle food poverty run by the official charity partner of Norwich City FC.

'Play and Eat' is held at the Community Sports Foundation's hub, The Nest, and allows children and their families to eat after school for £2 per meal.

The scheme is available term time between 16:00 and 18:00 BST Monday to Friday.

The foundation said while it was "open to all", it would mostly benefit those "struggling to cope with the ever-rising costs of feeding their children or providing a healthy, nutritious meal".

Ian Thornton, the foundation’s CEO, added: "Not only will local families be able to enjoy a healthy, freshly cooked meal, the 'play' hour offers an invaluable opportunity to socialise, exercise and make new friends, all for a very reasonable price."

The project has been under way for about a week

One child who had eaten at the cafe told the BBC: "[The food] is really good. It's like being in a five-star restaurant. I love it."

Another added: "I think it's really fun, and it's a great offer as you get loads of time to play football.

"It's a lot better than sitting in your room."

Parents praised the scheme for offering "fantastic value for money" and having a positive impact on their mental health as they “felt part of a community".

Parents say the scheme is a great way for their children to have a nutritious meal while "letting off some steam" after school

Meals such as vegetarian lasagne and mango and lime chicken were "freshly cooked on site", the foundation said.

Jackie Thornton, the foundation’s director of strategy and development, said the scheme had been "brilliant so far".

"On Friday we had our highest number, which was 34 people.

"I think once word gets out a little bit further, and people know they can access this service, I think we will see the project grow and grow."

Jackie Thornton says "coping with demand" might be a bigger problem than a lack of customers

The Nest, located near Norwich Airport, is a football-based community hub which has 3G pitches, conference space and an outdoor play area.

The house building company, Persimmon Homes, donated £5,000 towards the new initiative.