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Delivered as part of the Beyond the Chartwells Kitchen programme, the sessions were held at community centres across 22 regions, including Sussex, Liverpool and Durham.

Primary school pupils and their families learnt how to cook affordable, nutritious recipes, with the aim of helping improve local children’s food education and providing them with a safe environment to socialise during the holidays.

Pupils at the Sussex workshops put their cooking skills to the test by making fruit kebabs, rainbow wraps with vegetables, chickpeas and cheese as well as energy balls made from oats, cocoa and raisins.

They also got creative by blending their own smoothies using Chartwells’ smoothie bike – a pedal-operated blender connected to a stationary bicycle that allows children to choose their fruit, cycle on the bike and blend their own healthy treat.

Georgi Avery, senior nutritionist at Chartwells, said: “We understand that the school holidays often add further pressure on families, so ensuring they have resources available to support their physical and mental wellbeing is vital. Working closely with our industry partners, it’s been fantastic to nearly double our HAF engagement during this summer’s school holidays compared to 2023.

“By continuing to work with local schools and community groups, we’re determined to keep boosting our outreach and educating young people in fun, interactive ways on the importance of eating healthy and nutritious meals, both inside school and outside of term time.”

Chartwells is committed to providing young people with delicious, nutritious meals and food education both during and out of term time and has supported HAF projects since 2018. The company plans to continue extending its reach during term time as well as during school holidays in order to provide more support for families in the communities they work in.