South Gloucestershire Council is helping residents throughout the summer months with a range of cost of living support to ensure everyone gets enough nutritious food to eat and can keep their energy bills down.
There are 500 cool packs available for those most in need of some extra help. There are two different types of bags available to collect for free from the council’s One Stop Shops and children’s centres, as well as at some charities and partner organisations. Family bags contain adult and children’s caps and water bottles, ice lolly moulds, ice packs, a handheld fan and a cooling pad. Adult bags are also available and all bags contain lots of information about support available.
The cool packs are funded through the government’s Household Support Fund and follow the success of the council’s free warm packs distributed over the last two winters and cool packs last summer.
There is no eligibility criteria to collect a cool pack other than being a resident of South Gloucestershire. However, they are being provided to support those who may not be able to keep their homes at a comfortable temperature during the summer months due to high energy costs.
Councillor Alison Evans, South Gloucestershire Council’s cabinet member with responsibility for the cost of living, said: “We are so pleased to provide this support for those residents who may find they need a little extra help over the warmer months.
“We understand that keeping children entertained, and well fed, during the long school summer holidays can be difficult so we have provided lots of ideas for free and low cost days out and activities and recipes to try, as well as plenty of tips and advice to reduce energy costs and keep homes cool.
“There is absolutely no shame in needing some help and here at the council, we will treat everybody with the respect and dignity they deserve. If you need support, please contact us.”
As well as the cool packs, the council has also launched a new food campaign What’s On Your Plate? which provides help to apply for Free School Meals and the Holiday Activities and Food programme during the main school holidays. The campaign also aims to help residents save money by reducing their food waste and using up leftovers, save energy by cooking and storing food more efficiently and support Sustainable Food Places by helping the environment.
Over the last few weeks, the council has been taking the campaign to families at pop-up roadshows at primary schools across South Gloucestershire. In the summer holidays, there will also be events at pick up times of some holiday and after school clubs and at three shopping centres on:
- Thursday 1 August, Kings Chase Shopping Centre, Kingswood
- Wednesday 14 August, Willow Brook Shopping Centre, Bradley Stoke
- Thursday 22 August, Yate Shopping Centre.
All shopping centre events will be held from 10am-2pm and there will be lots of freebies available including lettuce seeds to grow at home, trolley tokens, bags, recipe cards and tips to save money. The roadshows will be attended by the council’s waste team who can provide expertise on reducing food waste, One Stop Shop officers who can help with accessing benefits and financial support and the Public Health team who will have information on eating better and nutrition.
For more information visit www.southglos.gov.uk/CostOfLiving or you can pop into a One Stop Shop in Kingswood, Patchway or Yate or call freephone 0800 953 7788.
