A BRADFORD restaurant is donating meals to school children and their families in a bid to prevent pupils going to class hungry.

MyLahore has begun working with Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College, delivering around 60 meals a week to the school to help vulnerable families in need.

Ishfaq Farooq, the director of the award-winning Bradford-based chain said he had been prompted into action after reading about a survey indicating school children were going to class hungry.

He told the Telegraph & Argus: “I thought this was very disturbing. Straight away I said we need to do something about this. We contacted schools and have had a good response saying there is a massive need.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Ishfaq Farooq of MyLahore in Bradford (Image: T&A)Ishfaq Farooq of MyLahore in Bradford (Image: T&A) (Image: Newsquest)

“We are now supplying meals to schools, sometimes for breakfast clubs, for lunch, or for the kids to take home to make sure they get a hot meal in an evening.”

He added that as well at BBEC, they are now working with Marshfield and Horton Grange primaries as well as Shipley College.

He encouraged other schools across the district to get in touch if they had pupils who were going hungry.

“How can we expect a child to function properly at school, to concentrate and learn, when they are hungry.”

He also encouraged other restaurants to get involved in whatever way they can.

“Imagine how many children could be helped if more restaurants supplied meals too – what a difference that could make across Bradford.”

He added that they were working on the project with the foundation set up by boxer Amir Khan, which aims to help alleviate food poverty among other aims.

Zainab Asghar, associate assistant headteacher at BBEC said that as a school they ensure children have access to a free breakfast when they come in in the morning, but that these meals from MyLahore were very welcome and will go to those most in need.

“These are vulnerable children and families. We have a team of staff who work with these families – and they are contacting them directly to offer these meals and ask how many they need – so it is targeted support. They might take five meals and put some in the freezer – or they might say we need three for tonight.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Zainab Asghar of Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College with some of the meals donated by MyLahore, associate assistant headteacher at BBEC Zainab Asghar of Buttershaw Business and Enterprise College with some of the meals donated by MyLahore, associate assistant headteacher at BBEC (Image: BBEC)

“We try to provide as much nutrition to the students as we can, so when they are in our classrooms learning, they are not thinking about food or whether they will have a meal today.”

To get in contact with MyLahore email hello@mylahore.co.uk.

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