52,173 packed lunches for Bolton’s children

Town councillor Linda Maher and Christine Simon from Urban Outreach Bolton

Bolton’s school children have been served up an incredible 52,000 packed lunches this summer, thanks to volunteers from Urban Outreach Bolton.

Westhoughton town councillor and Tesco worker Linda Maher is among the volunteers who have been packing lunches - with some 3,000 sandwiches being made every day!

The programme has been running for four weeks so far, with two weeks to go, and it benefits children who would normally receive free school meals during term time.

Linda said: “It’s such a rewarding project to be a part of, knowing that school children across Bolton will not go hungry this summer.

“Last year the project served up 69,000 lunches and this year looks set to exceed that number.”

The organisation also helps struggling families with Christmas hampers.

They are supported by Warburtons who donate all the bread, while Aldi supply the drinks. Many other companies donate different items to the project.

Volunters from Urban Outreach Bolton, including town councillor Linda Maher, pictured in the centre, as they prepare 3,000 sandwiches per day