CHURCH schools in the diocese of St Asaph are part of a programme to connect families in need of food support with a charity delivering subsidised meals free of ultra-processed ingredients.

The diocese of St Asaph is working with the charity Well-Fed to find schools with ten families in need, who will receive three months of subsidised meals, a slow cooker, and lessons in cooking nutritious meals.

Flintshire in Wales has more children and families living in relative poverty than the UK average: 20.2 per cent compared with 18.9, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Families taking part in the scheme will be asked to pay £100 towards 12 weeks of food for a family of four — and will receive about £650 of food in return.

Well-Fed offers 143 types of meals, including cook-at-home and ready-to-eat meals, all free of ultra-processed ingredients.

The head of education, children’s, and youth work for the diocese, Louise Williams, said: “Many of our schools see first-hand the impact of diet on their pupils, and being able to offer this project will help support some of those most in need in our communities.

“Teachers know how difficult it can be for children to learn properly if they’re coming to school on an empty stomach. We want our schools to be able to support the whole family, and this project will help embed the principles and benefits of eating tasty, healthy, affordable food across our communities.”

Meals will be delivered once a week to each school for those families participating in the project. After the 12-week programme, the service will become available to other families and staff in the school.

The project is being part funded by the Welsh Government’s grant for child-poverty innovation and supporting communities. Flintshire County Council has pledged to continue supporting food-poverty initiatives despite budget challenges, and is dipping into its reserves to do so.

Well-Fed already runs food hubs in four churches across the diocese and will be installing a set of refrigerated food lockers for meal distribution outside St Asaph Cathedral early next year.

The diocese looks after 49 Church in Wales schools, attended by more than 6000 pupils, across north-east and mid-Wales.