With more than a third of Bolton’s children living in poverty and cost-of-living pressures mounting, our special report gets to the heart of the crisis facing our borough’s youngsters. Here we look at how a prominent academies group will be setting up foodbanks to try and relieve hunger.

Two Bolton schools, both recognised as ‘outstanding’, will be running foodbanks from this autumn onwards as families struggle with the rising cost of living.

Star Academies, which runs the Olive School on Waterloo Road and Eden Boys School on Wolfenden Street, will both be running foodbanks out of all its 31 schools nationwide from September.

The schools have previously run foodbanks during the pandemic along with seasonal collections, but this marks a new and possibly more permanent frontier in the ongoing battle against poverty.

Star Academies chief executive Sir Mufti Hamid CBE said: “Helping to alleviate food and fuel poverty will remain a key priority for all Star schools for the foreseeable future.

“Children cannot learn well if they are hungry or anxious, and we are trying to do all we can to ensure the cost-of-living crisis does not impact on pupils’ wellbeing or their academic achievements.

“Eden Boys’ School, Bolton and The Olive School, Bolton have a number of initiatives in place to support pupils, families and staff who are most affected by the cost-of-living crisis.

“For example, the schools provide a foodbank for their pupils, parents and staff to ensure they have access to nutritious meals and, in some cases, we’re even able to offer delivery with some Eden Boys’ School alumni supporting with the distribution of food to the local community.

“Alongside this, the schools will also be supporting families and staff by signposting to other organisations that can help them with the cost of living, such as their home energy costs, and by offering a hardship fund to those who need it most.

“We can only achieve this by working together with our committed pupils, staff and the wider Star family who selflessly volunteer their time to help those in the local community.

“As one of our STAR values, service to the community is in our DNA and we actively encourage our pupils to give back to their localities and engage in activities that heighten their sense of social responsibility.” 

The Bolton News:

Eden Boys School, on Wolfenden Street, Bolton

This comes after findings released by the End Child Poverty Coalition showing that more than a third of youngsters in Bolton are living in poverty.

NEU assistant branch secretary Julia Simpkins said: “There are areas of Bolton where families have always struggled to provide a balanced diet for their children and now with the cost of living shooting up, they’re struggling to provide any diet at all.

“Now we have mothers who are choosing not to feed themselves just to be able to feed their children.”

She added: “Obviously its not a problem right now but in the winter when its cold there are families who can’t to buy winter clothes, so their children are cold.”

“It’s a disgrace that this government has allowed us to end up in the position where schools need to step in to fill these gaps but more and more that’s what we’re having to do.”

For teachers on the frontline, the fact that schools are now having to step in to make sure children are fed is a sign of mounting desperation.

NEU senior regional officer Michelle Greaves said: “A lot of these schools you will find are in deprived areas, it depends on the circumstances frankly but Star Academies is one where they do everything possible to improve the life chances of pupils.”

She added: “I wasn’t aware they were doing this throughout the year but they think of themselves as a family of schools so I’d image they’re doing whatever they can to help the families there.”