Library staff will be joining CATERed on its Big Summer Food Tour at locations across Plymouth to promote the benefits of library membership and run activities including storytimes and crafts. Free books will be given away alongside CATERed’s healthy free lunches.
The partnership has been made possible because of £56,026 funding awarded by the Libraries Opportunities for Everyone Innovation Fund.
Councillor Glenn Jordan, cabinet member for Culture, said: “We’re thrilled to be receiving this funding and looking forward to working with CATERed and adding libraries to their established Big Summer Food Tour. We know that it can be a struggle for some parents to provide extra meals when children are at home during the school holidays.
“By joining together and offering a range of library activities alongside the tour, we can ensure that children’s tummies and minds are fed over the summer holiday, so that they return to school fit, healthy and able to learn.
“We’re particularly keen to work with children and families in areas of low library usage, to reach those who may not have visited for a while and to dispel some of the myths around libraries and what they offer.”
The Libraries Opportunities for Everyone Innovation Fund is run by Arts Council England and supports projects that develop innovative library service activity to benefit disadvantaged people and places in England.