Calls have been made for Dundee City Council to follow in the footsteps of North Lanarkshire and offer free meals for children every day of the year.
The west coast Labour-controlled local authority will pilot the “Food 365” scheme in Coatbridge in the upcoming Easter school holidays, with plans in the pipeline to offer the same service across the area in summer too.
The area suffers from some of the highest rates of deprivation in Scotland and the council hopes the scheme will help tackle so-called “holiday hunger”.
Dundee faces similar challenges, highlighted by a recent damning report by the End Child Poverty Coalition.
The organisation revealed Dundee has one of the worst rates of child poverty in Scotland with more than 8,000 children – or 28% – growing up below the poverty line.
Dundee City Council said it will “monitor the progress” of the pilot scheme in North Lanarkshire before taking any steps to do the same here.
Ken Linton, manager of Dundee Foodbank, said a similar scheme in Dundee could help tackle deprivation in the city.
He said: “I think it would certainly be a positive step if the council were to follow North Lanarkshire’s lead.
“I think it would be a great thing and they would certainly be praised for it. In a sense it would take some pressure off foodbanks because our referrals increase significantly outside of term time. Many families really struggle at this time.
“There is currently some help in place for this problem. For instance, we support the Fun and Food programme (a Dundee Bairns charity initiative aimed at providing breakfast and lunches to primary-aged children during the school holidays).”
Recent research suggested a third of parents in the UK with incomes under £25,000 skip meals outside term time to ensure their children can eat.
All children in primaries one to three in Scotland are entitled to a free meal but after that, eligibility is based on level of income.
Glasgow City Council will soon provide free school dinners for all children in Primary 4, the first Scottish council to extend automatic entitlement.
Tony Graham, head of Scotland at the Trussell Trust, which runs a network of more than 400 foodbanks across the UK, welcomed the prospect of more councils offering meals throughout the year.
He said: “Every school holiday foodbanks meet parents who have been skipping meals because their already-tight budgets just won’t stretch to cover the price of extra food and activities when their children are off school in the holidays.
“We are really pleased to see North Lanarkshire council is planning year-long food provision for children, as it will ease the burden on families and the third sector during the holidays.
“More councils should follow their lead to help stem the tide of holiday hunger for good.”
Dundee City Council, which recently agreed to increase the cost of paid-for school meals by between 10p and 15p, said: “We are currently involved in the Fun and Food Summer Programme, where we help provide free meals to any organisations in community regeneration areas who intend to deliver provision for primary school children. We will monitor the progress of the pilot project in North Lanarkshire.”
