A COMMUNITY Council is to stump up more than £2,000 to ensure children are fed during the school holidays.

Caia Park Community Council has stepped in to fill a void which will be left when Gwenfro Valley Integrated Children's Centre closes next month.

The centre has hosted the Holiday Hunger project, which ensures children who would not otherwise be fed when not in school, are given a meal during the summer holidays.

But due to funding drying up, Gwenfro Valley is set to close on July 14, just days before the six-week school summer holidays, and with it an outlet for the Holiday Hunger project will be lost.

The £2,286 contribution will only be enough to support the project for three days a week, for six weeks, but members felt they had to do something as a stop-gap.

The Holiday Hunger project began three years ago led by the Diocese of St Asaph.

It addresses the situation for some families whose children receive school meals while at school, but whose budget struggles to stretch to the school holidays and as a result children sometimes go hungry.

As part of the project, volunteers hand out 100 meals a day - and Caia Park primary schools alone supply 400 children a day with free school meals.

On the estate, the project is based at The Venture and Gwenfro Valley.

Reverend Jonathan Smith, vicar of St Margarets, Garden Village, and St Marks, Caia Park, and leader of the Anglican Area Mission Team of Wrexham had written to the community council to see if they could help "ensure meals reached needy children".

In his letter, the Rev'd, who is also a governor at Hafod Y Wern School, he said: "We have now heard that the short term funding at Gwenfro Valley is to run out in July, bringing with it the closure of the facility and meaning that we face the prospect of losing our Queensway / Gwenfro outlet for the summer holiday project.

"All the evidence from this project, and our operation on the Wrexham foodbank at St Marks Church each week, point to the difficulties faced in crisis situation by families and individuals.

"The number of clients at St Marks foodbank outlet is considerably higher in 2018 than it was in previous years."

Members of Caia Park Community Council were in full support of stepping in to help.

They felt it was important the project continued somewhere where children would already be going for play provision.

Clerk Michael Morris said he had already spoken to the Wrexham play development team to see if they would be able to help with the provision during the summer holidays, and had confirmed they could manage three sessions a week at Gwenfro Valley which could be opened up on those days.

Whitegate ward Cllr Carole Lloyd said: "It is the worst time of year for some families. At least in school they get their meals, it's vital that we support this.

Fellow Whitegate Cllr Brian Cameron added: "As far as I'm concerned it's a no-brainer."

Members agreed to make the £2,286 contribution to keep the provision.