The Morrisons Foundation has partnered with Yorkshire Cricket Foundation to ensure children who would normally rely on free school meals during term time don’t go hungry during the school holidays.
Since 2018, Yorkshire Cricket Foundation has delivered the healthy holiday programme Crick-EAT, which delivers informal cricket coaching through the recruitment of professionally trained cricket coaches from the Yorkshire cricket network. Cricket itself appeals to a much more diverse audience than some other sports – making it a great tool for reaching young people and children from diverse backgrounds.
The £24,675 donation provided by the Morrisons Foundation will allow Crick-EAT to expand to targeted areas of Bradford this June.
- Karmand Centre (Community centre)
- Sutton Centre (Community centre)
- Bradford Park Avenue (Outdoor cricket ground)
Starting from 1st June for four days, Crick-EAT will run a pilot across three venues in Bradford, delivering over 20 hours of physical activity. Across the city of Bradford, over 24% of children live below the poverty line. To ensure everyone attending the sessions receives a meal, Morrisons community champions will be working closely with the venues in their local communities. They will make up and deliver packed lunches, including snacks and refreshments so that every session is catered for.
Following the successful pilot at the three venues, the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation will expand to a further twelve hubs for the summer holidays, in Bradford and Leeds. The hubs will be funded through an additional donation from Morrisons – to give over 24,000 children the access to 1,620 hours of physical activity and a meal every time they attend a session.
Will Saville, Managing Director at the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, said: “Holiday hunger has long been a major issue across the country and the recent pandemic has really highlighted this. The Crick-eat programme is a fantastic way to engage young people in sport, whilst also providing them with a healthy meal and a safe environment. Having Morrisons Foundation partnering with this programme is absolutely fantastic and it means we can reach many more people as a result. We are delighted that as two Yorkshire brands, we are able to come together to do our bit.”
Rebecca Singleton, Customer, Community & Support Office Director at Morrisons, said: “It’s been a difficult year for the whole country and we want to ensure that children and young people don’t go hungry during the school holidays. The Crick-EAT project is a brilliant way to deliver this goal whilst also providing children with a fun and engaging activity. We’re delighted to be supporting YCF to deliver this in Bradford.”
The Morrisons Foundation was set up by Morrisons supermarket in 2015 and awards grants for charity projects which help improve people’s lives. Since launching, over £33 million has been donated to hundreds of charities across England, Scotland and Wales to make a positive difference in local communities.
