A LOCAL councillor has reminded families of the support on offer in the area to help combat the cost-of-living crisis.

The connect4communities programme operating across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight supports people most in need such as families with children and pensioners who are struggling with energy, food and water bills.

Their projects include support with fuel and utility bills, community pantries, support for housing costs, holiday activities and food and community grants.

Councillor Roz Chadd, the County Council’s deputy leader and executive lead member for children’s services recently said: “We are using Household Support Grant funding from the Department for Work and Pensions to offer a range of support to families and individuals who are facing financial hardship and struggling to pay for food and fuel over the summer and beyond.

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“Examples of organisations and supportive measures we are funding include fuel vouchers via Citizens Advice, community pantries where people can buy groceries at a lower cost than supermarkets, discretionary grants accessed through schools and early years’ settings, food vouchers for people on Local Council Tax Support, housing support through district and borough councils, and grants for local community organisations. Families can also access Holiday Activities and Food schemes throughout the summer, with many providers offering free places for eligible children.

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“We encourage families to make contact with these organisations directly as soon as possible to find out what is available.”

The connect4communities programme incorporates the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) scheme, which was extended for another three years by the county council in April.

Kids eligible for HAF places include those who would usually receive a free school meal. More than 33,000 children could qualify for free HAF places.

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Locations and activities part of the HAF programme in Winchester include:

• 360 Degree Sports Coaching at Weeke Primary School

• Active Me 360 at Swanmore College

• Alresford Youth Association at sun Hill Junior School

• Community Childcare Centres- Growing Places at Little Acorns, Wickham

• Denmead Holiday Club at Denmead Infant School

• Integr8 Dance at Unit 12, Winnall Valley Road and Winnall Primary School

• Personal Best Education at Kings School, Romsey Road

• SportSkool Ltd at John Keble Church of England Primary School

• The Carroll Centre, Stanmore

For the full list of Hampshire HAF venues go to hants.gov.uk/socialcareandhealth/childrenandfamilies/connectforcommunities/holidayactivities/haf-grantrecipients.

Families in need of support for food can also contact their district council to access the local food voucher schemes, their children’s school to access discretionary grants or go to a community pantry or foodbanks and other food resources on the family information and services hub.

Winchester community food pantries include The Carroll Centre in Stanmore, Winchester Community Pantry delivered by Unit 12 in Winnall and Wickham Community Pantry.

Jool Heller-Dixon, head of The Carroll Centre said: "We’ve been oversubscribed because I think this holiday more than ever, families are really struggling financially. Not having food vouchers or meals during the holidays is really making a difference to the families.

"The main thing we’re doing is providing lots of fresh fruit and vegetables because they’re the main things that families are struggling to afford at the moment, we’re noticing that more and more. In April, we started a food pantry at the centre, which is one of the Hampshire County Council funded food pantries. So one of the things we’re doing is making sure that all of the families signed up for play scheme are also signed up to our pantry so they can shop here once a week."

For more go to fish.hants.gov.uk/kb5/hampshire/directory/home.page.

And for more information on all the support available via connect4communities go to hants.gov.uk/socialcareandhealth/childrenandfamilies/connectforcommunities.