The summer holidays are now well underway, and with long days of outdoor play ahead, one thing is absolutely essential, children need to be well-fed. At Eastside Community Trust, we know that fuelling play isn’t just about filling bellies, it’s about offering nutritious, culturally appropriate, and genuinely delicious food that energises children and brings our community together.

We’re excited to launch our new booklet, ‘Food is the Fuel for Play’, created with the children and young people who attend Felix Road Adventure Playground. This vibrant piece of research brings to life what kids really want to eat after school and during the holidays and why it matters.

Where Play and Food Come Together

Felix Road Adventure Playground is no ordinary place. It’s a lively, open-access playground in Easton, Bristol. With over 2,400 children registered – 92% of whom are from Global Majority backgrounds – Felix is a melting pot of cultures, ideas and imagination. And thanks to research commissioned by Quartet Community Foundation and supported by Feeding Bristol, we’ve dug deep into how food shapes the lives of the children who play here.

As Tom Williams, the research facilitator, puts it:

“We often talk about listening to children, this project actually did. Children helped ask the questions, trialled the food, and told us, clearly and honestly, what works for them. What they need is food that helps them play, and play well.”

Free Doesn’t Mean Cheap

A key takeaway from the project is that free food doesn’t have to be low quality. At Felix Road, we don’t just hand out limp cheese sandwiches. With the help of our talented Kitchen Coordinator Nirmal Singh, we serve hot, healthy meals every day we’re open, six days a week. And we’ve just installed a brand-new tandoor oven, which means our already impressive offering of curries, dals, and rice dishes is about to get even better.

Nirmal Singh, who cooked a staggering 17,000 free meals for children in 2024, shared:

“We cook with love and we cook with the children in mind. It’s not just about keeping them full, it’s about making them feel at home, giving them familiar flavours from their own cultures, and introducing them to new ones too.”

What We Learnt from the Children

The children took the lead in designing and conducting this playful, action-based research. From food trials with Akmal (our enthusiastic nine-year-old footballer) to international cooking workshops with playworker Araceli from Chile, the insights were rich and revealing.

Some of the top findings from the booklet:

• Favourite after-school meal? Chicken curry, rice and salad.

• Best snack discovery? Chimichangas from Mexico and Roma-style pancakes.

• Top juice flavour when diluted with water? Apple (orange was surprisingly last!).

• What food helps you play best? Warm, familiar meals that don’t surprise the taste buds.

This work proves what we’ve always believed – good food helps create good play. It also shows that many children still aren’t getting access to proper food after school or during holidays, especially hot meals, which can impact not just their energy but their moods, behaviour, and physical health.

A Community Health Solution

In an area of high deprivation, the combination of an energetic adventure playground and free hot food is more than just a nice idea, it’s a community health solution. At Felix Road, we believe that food is a right, not a reward.

Here’s how we make it work:

• Simple menus, fresh ingredients – Children love repetition and comfort food.

• Small portions, second helpings – This reduces waste and respects children’s appetites.

• No fizzy drinks – Instead, we offer water or diluted juice with ice on hot days.

• Cooking with kids – Teaching children to cook gives them agency, confidence and curiosity about what goes into their meals.

Tom sums it up beautifully:

“Food is about dignity. When we serve a warm, tasty, healthy meal to a child, we’re telling them they matter – that their needs and their happiness count.”

The children at Felix said that play makes them feel happy, relaxed, strong, excited, and of course, hungry. What we offer here is a space where they can feel all of that, safely and joyfully.

Food is fuel for play. It can’t be an afterthought. Whether it’s a plate of fish and peas, a lovingly spiced curry from our new tandoor oven, or a simple juice with ice, food done right transforms lives – one plate at a time.

Read the full ‘Food is the Fuel to Play’ booklet online or pick up a copy at Felix Road Adventure Playground.