Blackburn with Darwen council are offering children free lunches during the summer holidays.

Five family hubs located throughout the borough will provide all young people within the community access to nutritious meals.

The sites are located at family hub Livesey, Family Hub Darwen, Family Hub Shadsworth, Family Hub Little Harwood and Hancock Street Children’s centre.

They will be open between 11:30am and 1pm between July 29th and August 23rd.

And the hubs at Little Harwood, Darwen, Livesey and Shadsworth will also be celebrating their one-year anniversary with a series of storytelling and outdoor recreation.

All these events are free of charge and do not require a booking. To receive free meals, call 01254 585000.

Alongside this the council will be running the Government’s holiday activities and food (HAF) programme, after the success of the previous three years.

Locally known as “get stuck in” the scheme aims to provide a quality and action-packed programme of holiday clubs which incorporate meaningful activities and free hot food to engage children and young people from vulnerable families.

On the Get Stuck in Website, Blackburn Rovers community Manager David Hayhurst said: “The programme is designed to get young people out of their homes during the school holidays, receive some lovely nutritious food, whilst also taking part in fun activities and making new friends and new memories.”

HAF - Get Stuck In from Spring North on Vimeo.

Last year activities included rock climbing, a visit to Blackburn Rovers, arts and craft sessions, drama and music as well as additional time spent working on English and maths.

Clubs are open to children or young people who are eligible for free school meals or identified by local agency referral as in need and aged between four and 16.

Each child can be booked into up to four sessions across multiple venues.

 Additionally, they aim to provide an upskilled youth workforce who can support families with a range of signposting and advice at the point of need.