SCHOOL children in Merseyside will benefit from a new grant programme launching this summer which will provide £5 million in grants to help give them a healthier, more active, stronger start in life.

In the 1st year 5,300 Schools will be able to apply for support funding to get pupils the nutritious food they need throughout the School day and resources to keep them physically active with new sports and play equipment or outdoor activities.

The scheme, supported by UK community charity Groundwork, will replace the current Tesco Community Grants funding programme. It will focus on getting Schools who lack funds and resources, to apply for extra financial help they might need to provide healthy food and activities that boost young people’s mental and physical wellbeing.

Recent findings from Groundwork found that 78% of Schools are currently having to provide food for children from their own budget. Data from the Child Poverty Action Group shows that 800,000 children living in poverty are not eligible for free School meals and 2 million children do not have access to a healthy diet.

Jason Tarry, Tesco UK CEO, said:- “Tackling classroom hunger is vitally important in helping children get a stronger start in life. Children with enough food have more energy, better concentration and ultimately do better in school. As a business that is at the heart of communities, we know that urgent action is needed to improve the lives and prospects of young people.  We hope our initiative will help families and schools that are struggling to keep children fed.”

Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive, said:- “Schools are at the heart of our communities, and we have supported thousands of projects led by teachers and parents. We know that Schools are now doing everything they can to help families cope with the rising cost of living, but that School budgets are also under huge pressure. We’re really pleased that through the Tesco programme, we can now focus attention on helping Schools provide extra support to those who need it most; helping families make ends meet and helping children learn and flourish.”

Schools will be able to apply via Groundwork for a grant of up to £1,500 that can go towards activities that focus on providing food to pupils such as fruit for breakfast clubs or snacks to enjoy throughout the day and for equipment for outdoor and indoor activities.

Successful applications will go to a customer vote in their local Tesco store. 2 out of the 3 blue token voting boxes by the checkout will be dedicated to local Schools with the third given over to local community projects nominated by each store’s colleagues. Customers can then choose which of the 3 projects they’d like to support by voting with a blue token.

The initiative will also be boosted by Tesco’s ‘Golden Grants’ events, which saw it give away £1 million last year to mark reaching £100m worth of grants awarded to local communities through the Tesco Community Grants Fund.  In 23/24, Tesco will award 200 x £5,000 ‘Golden Grants’ to Schools and local projects.

This month also saw Tesco publish its Community Impact Report. Since its Community Grants programme launched in 2015 it has awarded over £100 million in funding to more than 50,000 community projects, with grant awards decided by 700,000 votes cast by Tesco customers in stores across the UK.

The programme has helped tackle homelessness, promote diversity, support communities during the Covid 19 Pandemic. It has supported veterans through charities based in our garrison towns and kept kids happy and active through sport. More recently it has helped get what’s needed most to families through funding for food, mental health support, lifesaving equipment and specialist resources.