The Rotary Club of Newton Aycliffe were hosts last week to Alison and Kath, pictured with our President, Jean Thompson. They came along to tell us about the Play Café project which supports families with school aged children, who are at risk of experiencing holiday hunger or social isolation during school holidays. The volunteers organise pop-up café events at venues in Newton Aycliffe, offering a meal, play and other activities free of charge.
Play Café provides groceries for the whole family replacing the missing free school meals and breakfasts, recognising that not only the children may go hungry. Families are referred to Play Café for a wide variety of reasons, but usually because of low income. It is often combined with other tricky family circumstances which are made more acute without the structured support which our schools provide. The Rotary members were very impressed with this amazing initiative, the community involvement and the partnership working it encompasses and perhaps it could be used as a model for other towns where there is a need for a similar service.