Holiday activities with food

York’s Holiday Activities and Food Programme (HAF) offers fun activities for keeping active, being creative, and trying something new over the Easter, summer, and winter school holidays.

Children and young people in receipt of benefit-related free school meals can receive up to four sessions of free activities and nutritious food during the Easter and winter holidays and up to 16 sessions during the summer holidays.

Each day will include: a healthy meal and a selection of activities ranging from sports, drama and creative workshops, nature activities, and much more.

Manchester United and England Footballer Marcus Rashford spreads the word about the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme.

A new centralised booking system is now available to book your HAF activities.

Our upcoming summer 2023 HAF programme will be running from 26 July to 1 September, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays).

Families who are eligible to receive the HAF offer will receive their vouchers from their child's school. Parents and carers will receive a voucher for each child, sent individually from their child’s school.

To book an activity, you will need a HAF eVoucher, which your school will provide via text or email. Your eVoucher will include a link that will take you to the booking site. The booking site lists all York HAF summer activities. All activities will be going live on 3 July.

Contact your child’s school if you do not receive your HAF eVoucher. If you haven’t received your HAF eVoucher and your child’s school is closed due to the school holiday, email: [email protected].

Community Food

There are a number of food provision options around the city including food shares, community cafés, pay as you feel cafés and more. View the community food map.

For a printable version of the food map contact Georgia (Community Food Officer) by email: [email protected].

Vouchers for HAF

The Department for Education is providing local authorities with funding to offer holiday activities to families of children and young people who are eligible for benefits-related Free School Meals.

Schools can also make other children and young people who face disadvantage eligible by exception. This might include, for example, young carers, refugees and asylum seekers and those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

There are no set criteria for making children or young people eligible by exception, and there is no automatic entitlement to eligibility based on any particular experience (excluding being on benefits-related Free School Meals), including those listed above. For example, a child or young person having SEND does not mean their family would necessarily struggle to pay for their attendance at a holiday activity.

Schools know their children and young people, so they decide whether a child or young person not on benefits-related Free School Meals should be made eligible for HAF by exception.

Schools should allocate a voucher to any children/young people that has previously made eligible for FEAST.

What to do if your child is not on benefits related Free School Meals

The Department for Education has designed this programme specifically to support those on benefits-related Free School Meals.

Children and young people who are not on benefits-related Free School Meals who face disadvantage can be made eligible by exception by their school. This might include, for example, young carers, refugees and asylum seekers and those with SEND.

There are no set criteria that make a child/young person eligible, and there is no automatic entitlement to eligibility based on any particular experience, including those listed above.

There are also limits on how many non-benefits related Free School Meal children or young people can be made eligible to ensure that the focus of the programme remains on the Department for Education’s key audience: those on benefits-related Free School Meals.

If you believe your child should be made eligible for HAF please contact their school to request this. Schools have been given the individual responsibility to make additional children eligible by exception. If your child's school is now closed for the school summer holidays email: [email protected].

Free school meals eligibility

Visit the City of York Council's Free School Meals page for further information. Please note that the HAF programme is for families in receipt of benefits related free school meals.

If you didn't receive a voucher or a code

Contact your child's school. If your child's school is now closed for the school summer holidays email: [email protected].

Food provision

Children attending the activity sessions will get a hot meal or packed lunch. The provider you book with will be able to let you know what food will be provided at their sessions.