York St John University student tackles child holiday hunger

A York St John University graduate and soon to be PhD student, has spent her winter break organising and distributing food parcels to disadvantaged children.   

Kayleigh Maughan has been running the project, Ending Holiday Hunger, in her home city of Leeds. She provided parcels to 234 children over the two-week holiday. She has spent the last few months fundraising for the project, which is partnered with the Co-op and local businesses.   
   
The compassionate student says she was inspired to start it after her time working in a primary school.  
   
Kayleigh said: “I saw children arriving to school on Monday having only had cereal to eat throughout the weekend. Holidays were hard. Also, this was before the pandemic, which has made the situation so much worse for so many families.”  
   
Kayleigh is planning to continue throughout all the foreseeable school holidays, with the February half-term fundraising already underway.  

Kayleigh added: “Now, more than ever, we need to come together as a community. Children have had their lives disrupted for months and many families are struggling. No child should have to go hungry.  

“It has been amazing to receive encouragement from people both locally and from afar. Whether you can donate food, money or your time, I am very grateful for any support in tackling holiday hunger.”     
   
The project is also providing to women’s refuges, schools, addiction support workers and children’s centres, as well as accepting self-referrals.    
   
More information on how to support the project can be found on Kayleigh’s GoFundMe page.