TWO Glasgow primaries will open during the summer to help combat "holiday hunger".

Dalmarnock and Ibrox primaries are taking part in the scheme to help families struggling to cope without free school meals.

The move comes after last year it was revealed how four in 10 low income families were skipping meals during the summer holidays so they could afford to feed their children.

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During July, Dalmarnock will be open for up to 80 parents and children to get lunch, trips out and free play, as part of the Children in Scotland's Food, Families and Futures project.

The scheme builds on a family meal and homework club the school's parents set up last autumn.

At Ibrox, there will be four weeks of activities including food preparation, eating and nutrition from July 8.

Dalmarnock Primary headteacher Nancy Clunie said: “We are conscious that some of our families might need a little bit of extra help over holiday periods – especially families who throughout the school term benefit from free school meals.

"However, this project is much more than the offer of a free meal and is a chance for the children and their families to get together over the holidays, make friends and learn new things.”

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The programme at Dalmarnock is a partnership with PEEK, Thriving Places and the North East Health Improvement team of Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership.

Ibrox Primary headteacher Fiona Young said: “Throughout the year we all work hard as a school community to help promote the importance of a healthy diet as part of a healthy lifestyle and we are delighted to be part of this project.”

The two primaries are in two of the highest rates of school meal entitlement in Scotland.

In Glasgow as a whole, 38.8% of primary school pupils, and 29.8% of secondary pupils, get free school meals.

Children in Scotland Chief Executive Jackie Brock said: “We know that free school meals are vital for many families, but when this provision ends and holidays start it can mean crisis. These projects will help to ensure families can access food and wellbeing activities at a time that would have been associated with great insecurity and stress.

"The food programmes at Ibrox and Dalmarnock are a great example of communities taking action to forge partnerships that are appropriate to local needs. More so than ever, it means that these schools will be at the heart of their communities and at the heart of supporting families."

Children in Scotland is leading Food, Families & Futures as charity partner of Business in the Community Scotland (BITC Scotland), together with UK food supply company Brakes.

Mark Bevan, BITC Scotland’s Operations Director, said: “In 2016 no child in Scotland should be setting off for school with a rumbling tummy, nor should they be spending their school holidays wondering if, not what, they will have for dinner. But this is the sad reality for hundreds of thousands of children across Scotland, and their numbers are ever increasing.

“Going to school hungry and struggling through the long school holidays not only impacts these children’s happiness and wellbeing, it also severely limits their mental and physical development with long-lasting and wide-ranging consequences. Because of hunger, these children struggle to focus in school and to develop vital skills alongside their more affluent classmates, meaning that as they grow up they face extra challenges to achieving their full potential.

“Child food poverty is preventing hundreds of thousands of children from gaining the necessary skills to be employable in the future and business knows that this is something they cannot afford."

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