City charity set to provide millionth free meal

Adam Yates, pictured here with Hubb Foundation founder Carol Shanahan, says it is a shame organisations like theirs need to exist

A charity established to support children and families in Stoke-on-Trent during school holidays is set to provide its millionth free meal.

The Hubb Foundation in Burslem, which was founded by Port Vale co-owner Carol Shanahan, began offering complimentary meals and school break activities in 2018.

Demand for support is higher than ever, said its chief executive, the former Port Vale defender Adam Yates.

"It's a brilliant number to hit, really impressive, but on the other hand, it's a shame organisations like ours exist because of the hardship of children and families," he said.

The charity works with the majority of the city's schools

School holidays are a "real pressure point" for many families, said Mr Yates, as they are having to find money to pay for breakfast and dinners their child would normally get at school.

The figure of a million free meals had been reached through a combination of the help the charity provided to people through Covid, as well as school holiday support and other projects.

Organising and supplying the food was down to an "incredible team" and having "probably more partnerships than anyone else in the city", said the charity boss.

The Hubb Foundation has "sizeable" government funding, but Mr Yates said it does not cover all the disadvantaged people they want to support with food and activities, and he hopes financial support grows.

"Demand is increasing, requests are increasing, the number of families that need signposting to different services is increasing."

Supplying so much free food had been a huge effort, said the former footballer, but without it, "there would have been a million fewer meals in Stoke-on-Trent".