Sevenoaks Town Council bags £1,500 from Tesco’s Stronger Starts scheme

Published: 08 May 2025

Sevenoaks Town Council will receive £1,500 from Tesco’s Stronger Starts scheme, which we will use to provide meals and sandwiches to children who may be experiencing food insecurity over the school holidays.

We will provide these meals from the House in the Basement Youth Café, located in the basement of the Stag Theatre in Sevenoaks Town Centre. The House in the Basement Youth Café is a welcoming and free space for young people.

Community members can find out more information about the scheme and how to access it by emailing the Sevenoaks Town Council Deputy Clerk at [email protected]. Further details will soon be available on the Sevenoaks Town Council website.

To boost funds for extra food and activity equipment, Tesco is introducing a £5m grant programme, in partnership with Groundwork UK, to give children across the UK a stronger start in life. The grants will help schools and children’s groups provide nutritious food and healthy activities that support young people’s physical health and mental wellbeing, such as breakfast clubs or snacks, and equipment for healthy activities.

Tesco’s Stronger Starts – previously Tesco Bags of Help and Tesco Community Grants – has already provided over £115 million to more than 65,000 projects across Britain.

Claire de Silva, Tesco UK Head of Communities and Local Media, said: “Helping schools and children’s groups access the food and resources they need is vitally important in getting children a stronger start in life. Children with enough food have more energy, better concentration, and ultimately achieve more too."

Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive, said: “As a community charity, we have seen first-hand how schools and other groups supporting young people have been playing a much bigger role in ensuring children are getting a healthy start to the day and getting access to spaces and services to support physical activity and mental health. Family budgets are tight and school budgets are tight, but it’s so important that children stay fed, fit and focused, so we’re delighted to be able to prioritise these activities alongside Tesco with the Stronger Starts programme.”

Funding is available to community groups and charities looking to fund local projects that bring benefits to communities. To find out more visit tescoplc.com/strongerstarts.