Reaching More Families: How Dolce Boosted Free School Meal Uptake

A Sheffield primary school faced a serious challenge with many of its Free School Meal (FSM) families struggling with food insecurity during the long summer and Easter breaks. This resulted in pupils not having access to nutritious meals, that they relied on during the school terms. The school recognised that this under-represented group needed additional support.

With one in four families in Sheffield struggling with financial security, Dolce partnered with the school, designing a targeted Holiday Hunger Club, filling a nutritional gap, while creating a safe, and positive space where pupils could explore new dishes. This proactive approach lead to an improvement is FSM engagement, while strengthening the schools support for its vulnerable families.

Dolce, backed by more than twenty-five years’ experience, supporting healthy eating at schools throughout England and Wales, recognised the need of FSM families during holiday periods. By collaborating with the primary school, the Dolce team was able to fully understand the challenges, including holiday food insecurity, financial pressures, along with routine disruption, which is why they created the Holiday Hunger Club, emphasising Dolce’s passion and how they go beyond daily school meals.

Dolce’s Holiday Hunger Club is a targeted programme, supporting FSM pupils during school holidays. This is a time when many students don’t have access to consistent or nutritious meals. The club provided daily hot meals and snacks, along with food-focused activities throughout the summer and Easter breaks. This created a safe and supportive environment, enabling children to enjoy wholesome meals, while exploring new flavours, and building confidence, with eighty percent of participating pupils trying something new for the first time.

At the same time, the Holiday Hunger Club, created by the Dolce team, reduced financial stress on these families, by providing additional meals throughout the holiday periods. This was seen as a high-value programme and the school has requested it year on year since.

This had a positive impact on both pupils and their families, boosting food confidence, reducing fussy eating, and reducing family financial stress during the holidays. It ensured children had access to healthy and nutritious meals, while improving their attitude towards school meals when returning for the next term.

The Sheffield primary school has now requested Dolce to run the programme each year, showing Dolce as a reliable partner for addressing food insecurity. This ongoing partnership has improved FSM engagement throughout the year, not only during the holiday periods. With Dolce’s understanding of under-represented communities and the importance of healthy eating, this approach can be applied to other schools throughout the country.

Conclusion

The Holiday Hunger Club by Dolce demonstrates the impact of a proactive, community focused solution for FSM families. Identifying under-represented groups and delivering meaningful holiday provisions ensured pupils had access to nutritious meals outside of term, while helping families reduce financial pressures. The programme has become a valued and trusted part of the school, with eighty percent of participating children trying new dishes, highlighting Dolce’s commitment to reducing food insecurity and creating a positive change to communities they serve.