STAFF and pupils in Ludlow are backing a £5 million scheme aimed at giving youngsters a fulfilling future.

Ludlow CE School is supporting the Tesco grant programme to provide extra food and activity equipment so children can get a stronger start in life.

The scheme comes after the school received £1,290 from Tesco to provide an outside break servery for their students, ensuring that all pupils have access to a healthy snack.

Rowena Morris, the school’s business manager, said: “Without this grant we could not have afforded to build our 'Snack Shack’ which provides a breaktime service for some of our 600 students.

“This helps relieve the pressure in the dining room and ensure that everyone can be served and no one goes hungry.”

Tesco’s Stronger Starts grants help schools and children’s groups provide equipment for healthy activities or nutritious food and healthy activities, such as breakfast clubs or snacks, to support young people’s physical health and mental wellbeing.

Customers can support their local school and children’s groups by dropping the Tesco blue token they receive at checkout into the relevant voting box as they leave the store.

The Stronger Starts scheme, supported by UK community charity Groundwork, will replace the current Tesco Community Grants funding programme.

Jason Tarry, Tesco UK CEO, said: “Helping schools and children’s groups access the food and resources they need is vitally important in getting children a stronger start in life. Children with enough food have more energy, better concentration, and ultimately achieve more too.

Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive, said: “Family budgets are tight and school budgets are tight, but it’s so important that children stay fed, fit and focused, so we’re delighted to be able to prioritise these activities in the new Stronger Starts programme.”

Successful applications will go to a customer vote in their local Tesco store. Two out of the three blue token voting boxes by the checkout will be dedicated to local schools with the third given over to local community projects nominated by each store’s colleagues. Customers can then choose which of the three projects they would like to support by voting with a blue token.