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Southampton school meals charity provides Christmas food boxes

16th Dec 2025 - 06:00
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Staff from City Catering, Bidfood, Comax and Harvest Fine Foods prepare boxes
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City Catering Southampton, the charity that serves 7,000 school meals a day in more than 40 schools in the city, is providing 950 boxes of groceries to local families this Christmas.

Working in collaboration with suppliers, Bidfood and Comax, it is funding all the recipe-led grocery boxes, while Harvest Fine Foods Ltd continues to pack and distribute the Cooking at Home boxes to schools. They are targeted at supporting local families at risk of food insecurity.

Gary McMahon, chief executive of City Catering Southampton, said that with a bank of more than 50 recipes that use basic ingredients, families could utilise their favourites to prepare healthy meals and light bites from scratch.

“This Christmas, we’re reminded that many families in our member schools face the risk of food insecurity. That’s why we’re proud to partner with three of our key suppliers to provide 950 families with staple grocery boxes—packed with ingredients for diverse, inclusive meals that can bring some comfort and joy during the festive season.

“We believe that everyone should have access to good food and nobody should go hungry. The rise in food costs means that more and more people are using food banks and that families who are eligible for free school meals, struggle to cover the cost of food over the festive period.”

The first delivery of boxes started on Monday (December 15th) to City Catering ‘s member schools across Southampton and the wider area.

McMahon added: “If you’re a local business and you’d like to co-fund the next batch of Cooking at Home boxes, please contact the charity at www.citycateringsouthampton.co.uk.” 

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Written by
David Foad