Deeside food project wins Welsh Government funding to fight child hunger

A Deeside-based organisation has secured Welsh Government funding to help tackle child food poverty through a new initiative aimed at reducing hunger and improving children’s diets.

Can Cook, based on Rowleys Drive in Shotton, is one of 25 organisations across Wales to receive a share of more than £1.5 million from the Child Poverty Innovation and Supporting Communities Grant for 2025 to 2026.

The funding will support a fresh, community-focused food programme to help families access affordable, nutritious meals all year round.

With a focus on health and diet, the initiative aims to move beyond traditional food aid by offering full meals, not just food products, to children and families most in need.

Speaking to Deeside.com, Can Cook Director Robbie Davison explained the scale of the issue in the local area.

“The backdrop to food and diet in Deeside is that 70% of everything eaten by local residents is ultra-processed food – food known to damage everyone’s health in the medium to long term,” he said.

“Alongside that, 75% of all food eaten by schoolchildren via school dinners is UPF. Then there is hunger.”

“The current food aid system does not provide meals at all. Both in the short term (this project) and long term (over the next three years), we will change this.”

The new scheme will involve close work with schools and families.

Each participating household will use a specially designed app to order meals, which will then be delivered into schools for families to collect and cook at home.

The focus, Robbie said, is on “stopping any sense of hunger and, in particular, making sure children and families eat fresh meals that are UPF-free.”

The project is being seen as a local answer to a national issue, taking aim at what Robbie describes as a failure in how food poverty is addressed.

“Children eat UPF food in schools, and this may be their only meal in a day – a big dietary issue that needs changing,” he said.

“At home, and if hungry, the food aid system provides mostly processed products, not meals.”

“Every child who is hungry requires meals, not products.”

“What we will do is make sure the local children we work with have access to fresh meals every day at home. This will address both poor diet-related health and hunger.”

He added, “There is no other food response like this anywhere in the UK.”

The Welsh Government hopes that funding local organisations like Can Cook will help reduce child poverty by supporting families in practical, direct ways.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Jane Hutt, said:

“Every child deserves the best start in life, and addressing child poverty remains our absolute priority.”

“We’re committed to breaking down the barriers poverty creates and expanding opportunities for our children.