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A mum and her eight-year-old boy are handing out free lunches to struggling families this summer.

Emma Taylor and son George have been offering packed lunches at St Anne’s Church, Edgeside.

Emma, of Whitewell Bottom, said they are trialling the scheme this week, and could roll it out throughout the summer.

The BRGS teacher said demand has grown steadily for their packages comprising a sandwich, drink, crisps, fruit and a biscuit.

She said: “We have St Anne’s Primary School attached to the church, and we have quite a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals.

“Some families have several children that would normally be fed at school. I thought I cannot sleep easy knowing there’s children in my own community who may be going hungry. I’m a teacher myself so I have time during the holidays to do this kind of thing.”

A survey by the Unite union this week claims the loss of school meals during holidays adds up to £40pw to bills, with 79pc of families on Universal Credit struggling to make ends meet.

Emma added: “It’s up to us as a community to step up. It’s open to basically anybody who wants to come. It was the children that I had in mind, but I’m also aware that a lot of - particularly single - parents will feed the children before they feed themselves.”

The church will be open from 11am to 12noon every day until Friday, August 2.

St Anne’s pupil George, son of Martyn Taylor, shares his mum’s “passion” for the volunteering.

Mum-of-three Emma said: “He’s been really keen getting the packed lunches together, and he’s the first person handing out the bags.

“The parents are thrilled about it.

“They explain that the summer holidays are really difficult, especially when you’ve got lots of children.

“There’s absolutely no shame in feeding your family.”