Holiday Activities and Food annual report 2025

Food

During the Christmas break, the Gateshead HAF programme embraced remote delivery to maximise reach at a time when weather challenges and bank holidays can make attending in-person clubs difficult. By partnering for the first time with Blaydon-based charity Feeding Families to develop recipe boxes, we were also able to allocate more of our HAF programme budget locally—supporting businesses and families across the borough.

Recipe boxes for the nutritious Rainbow Couscous and Curry in a Hurry were carefully prepared and, for the first time, packed by volunteers from Peace of Mind, a refugee and asylum seeker organisation. Volunteers worked in the warehouse between Christmas and New Year to pack fresh ingredients. Cook-along videos were also developed to support families in preparing meals in real time (https://youtu.be/aUz7Q0yONJk?feature=shared). These were delivered alongside Wild for Life activity boxes, which encouraged children to get outdoors and engage in activities such as building bird boxes, taking part in winter treasure hunts, and making bobble hats.

In 2025, one of our key nutritional priorities was to increase the fibre content of meals provided across HAF clubs. This followed the publication of a statistic highlighting that one in three GP appointments for primary-aged children in Gateshead relates to constipation. In response, we shared targeted communications with HAF providers, emphasising the importance of high-fibre meals within their provision. We also developed an infographic to support both providers and parents in understanding and promoting fibre-rich diets.

In the same year, we awarded capital funding to nine HAF partners through the Capital Expenditure Grant Award. This funding supported the purchase of equipment to enhance the quality of holiday clubs in 2025 and beyond. It was particularly encouraging to see several providers invest in kitchen equipment to strengthen their food provision. This not only enabled them to prepare meals to a higher standard, but also created opportunities for children to participate in food preparation and cooking. Involving children in these activities is essential to delivering high-quality nutritional education within the HAF programme.

Food waste continues to be a challenge for some providers, particularly where limited meal options are offered. In several cases, providers have reported increased waste when only a single choice is available. To address this, we have worked closely with organisations to improve their approach—encouraging the use of caterers who can offer variety, as well as introducing creative initiatives such as 'Bushtucker Trials' to build children's confidence in trying new and unfamiliar foods.

As part of our ongoing efforts to reduce food waste in 2025, we introduced an engaging and innovative initiative for HAF providers: the 'smoothie bike'. This initiative enabled children to create their own smoothies using surplus fruit and vegetables that might otherwise have been discarded.

By combining physical activity with hands-on nutritional education, the smoothie bikes proved highly effective. Children powered the blenders themselves, producing fresh, healthy smoothies while gaining a greater understanding of sustainable food choices.

Through the Capital Expenditure Grant Fund, we were able to support a Gateshead HAF provider with funding to purchase two smoothie bikes for use within their provision. We have also encouraged the organisation to share this resource by lending the bikes to other HAF providers when they are not in use, maximising their impact across the programme.

Chicken or vegetable fajitas remain the most popular meal across the clubs in Gateshead perhaps because they are so colourful as well as tasty, with pasta bolognese of course coming a close second. Clubs continue to provide children with a range of healthy snacks, including fresh fruit and vegetables.

Additional funding and support

We would like to thank the following organisations for their support during the HAF and HAF Plus programme over 2024. With their support, we were able to provide additional fun-filled activities and provisions for the children and young people.