Anyone for a healthy lunch?

Healthy Holidays

41% of Islington’s children are living in poverty and a quarter of reception class children were found to be overweight. Our project countered the obesity issues affecting Islington’s children by running Healthy Lunch Clubs from 5 adventure playgrounds across Islington during the school holidays.

We trained local volunteers in food hygiene, safeguarding and play values and deployed them at five sites across Islington, where they worked alongside playworkers to provide fun and healthy cooking/eating and outdoor play sessions.

The main objectives were to:

  • Provide healthy meals for hundreds of Islington children.
  • Promote healthy eating to children living in poverty and their families.
  • Provide services that prevent against obesity and associated conditions through access to the natural world and the outdoors.
  • Train volunteers in play, children’s services and nutrition.

We believe a greater understanding of the benefits of play and healthy eating will help us to take steps towards a healthier community.

In 2016, we successfully delivered 110+ healthy cooking sessions, providing 4400+ healthy meals to around 1,400 children.


Healthy Holidays was supported by the Department of Health through the Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund and by local councillors through the Local Initiatives Fund. For more information about HSCVF, pleaase visit www.volunteeringfund.com/.