PROJECTS to ensure children have a hot meal during the school holidays are being extended this year in a bid to reach even more kids.

The holiday hunger programme is being made available to more groups this year after more than 14,000 took part during the summer holidays last year.

Cash is allocated to community groups that organise activities over the holidays which includes a hot meal.

More than 70 groups were funded to provide activities over the spring school holidays in Glasgow and it will be extended over the summer again.

Last year 14,500 children took part in programmes run by almost 100 organisations.

Over the October holiday 6000 kids took part and in February half term this year the final figure is expected to top 6000.

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More than £830,000 was provided by Glasgow City Council last year and the funding has been made available again this year.

Council leader, Susan Aitken and City Treasurer, Allan Gow visited a project in the north of Glasgow run by Partick Thistle Charitable Trust in Milton.

The club is delivering a daily programme of physical activity for 100 primary school to “entertain, challenge and stimulate participants”.

The children are taking part in dance, fun fitness, archery, football, cricket, basketball, arts & crafts, cinema time, board games and general play.

Breakfast, lunch and snacks will be served as part of the programme.

Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council said; “We’ve invested £2million pounds in the school holiday food programme to offer families across the city equal access to a wide range of activities and opportunities that also includes healthy meals and snacks.

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“The response since last summer has been incredible – our partners in the voluntary and third sector have risen beautifully to the challenge each school holiday to produce an imaginative list of events and opportunities that children can take part in.”

City Treasurer Allan Gow announced cash for the programmes in his budget earlier this year.

He said: “The evaluation work has shown the programme to have numerous associated benefits to the children attending, their families, the wider communities in which they run and even in the organisations themselves.”

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