Read on for terrible egg-related puns, why motorbikers paraded through the streets in Easter bunny suits, where kids can eat free over the holidays and everyone’s Monday morning embodied in a cow. 

Good morning. Hope you are egg-cited for the Easter bank holiday weekend. I can only apologise for the number of Easter-related puns in this newsletter, but they have me cracking up. Swiftly moving on…

School holidays come with a basket full of challenges for families. With the safety net of free school meals and a day of childcare whipped away, many parents and carers face extortionate costs which they simply can’t afford.

And (sadly, unsurprisingly) evidence shows that it’s typically women who bear the brunt of this burden. More than four out of five people getting loans from supermarket Iceland to cover food costs are women. The majority of these are aged between 25 to 45, and there’s a spike in the number of people needing help over the school holidays. 

As our editor Paul McNamee writes in his editorial in next week’s magazine: “Women have held so much of the fabric together when the threads start to loosen. It's not hard to find this evidence, if we care to look, lads.”

Last year, we launched our Summer Survival Guide to support families through the long school holidays, with a series of articles about finding affordable childcare and discounts and free activities for kids. And at The Big Issue, we want to continue to help in any way we can.

And that’s what this newsletter is here for. This week is packed with lots of advice, information and money-saving hacks for families (and everyone else) over the Easter holidays so you don’t have to shell out too much. Make sure to share these with anyone you think might need it. 

Need to know basis

🧸 Hare-raising childcare costs. It can be extortionate to pay for childcare over the school holidays. It is more expensive in the UK than any other developed nation. We put together a one-stop guide to finding free and affordable childcare over the holidays, which also details all the government support you can get to cover the extra costs of having a child.

♀ On women’s shoulders. Young women are “bearing the brunt” of the cost of living crisis, the Young Women’s Trust has found. It comes as it’s revealed more than four out of five people getting loans from supermarket Iceland to cover food costs are women. The majority of the women are aged between 25 to 45 and the loans are spiking during school holidays.

🛒 Mini loans. If you need help to pay for your food shop and you are on a low income, you can get those small interest-free loans through Iceland by applying for their Food Club Scheme here. And for more information on how to find a credit union or ethical lender head to FindYourCreditUnion.co.uk or FindingFinance.org.uk. 

💰Hidden support. Financial support is often hard to find. A tangled web of grants, benefits, and funds mean millions of desperately needed pounds often go unclaimed. This website promises to make that easier with a one-stop portal to all the grants, benefits and other payments you can get. Turn2Us is another useful resource. 

🍼 Where it starts. Parents are increasingly turning to food banks to feed their babies, in devastating new research from IFAN. It comes as the Food Foundation slams the government for missing its Healthy Start targets, and charities call on policymakers to ensure immediate support is provided to vulnerable people. 

🥪 Postcode lottery. The government isn’t directly funding free school meals over the holidays, so the support you get largely depends on where you live. The Mayor of London announced that children in low-income families in the capital will get free school meals in the school holidays, and a similar scheme is already in place in Wales. 

Scottish councils are giving out free school meals payments, and some councils are doing the same in England. Northern Ireland has axed “holiday hunger” payments for children entitled to free school meals. Find out which areas of the UK are giving children free school meals here. 

🍏 Munch on this. Instead of free school meals (or as a bonus for a lucky few), the government is funding the Holiday Activities and Food Programme in England. This provides “healthy food and enriching activities” to children who are eligible for free school meals. But the scheme looks different depending on where you live. Find out more here. 

🍕 Kids eat free. It is not just the Easter Bunny handing out free treats over the school holidays. These restaurants across the country are providing meals for free or £1, although usually you have to buy a full adult meal to go with it. Egg-stra credit goes to Asda for being the only spot on the list where your kids get a meal for £1 without extra charges.

🐣 Cheap egg-stravaganzas. There are plenty of Easter events being run across the country over the next couple of weeks, but these vary hugely in price. So hop to it with these free activities for kids: from Easter egg hunts to craft activities and baking. 

Did you like what you've read? Let people know by going to our sign-up article and sharing it on your social networks! You can also sign up to my colleague Evie's newsletter 'Working on It' which is all about making work better. 

On a cheery note

Picture this: a group of motorcyclists all dressed up as Easter bunnies riding around Watford and spreading joy. This actually happened. Residents were asked to donate Easter eggs and gifts, which the bikers collected from their local pub before riding to Watford Hospital to give to patients. All donations will go to the Raise a Smile charity based at the hospital.

Saving those coins

Wondering where you can get the country’s cheapest, best-value, most egg-cellent Easter eggs? Which? has a huge table of Easter eggs and the prices you can get them for at each major supermarket. And Money Saving Expert has done their annual and much-anticipated Easter egg taste test. Better hunt the supermarkets for your favourites before they are bought in bulk by the Easter bunny.

Anyone doing something inspiring in your community or know about a cool initiative getting people through the cost of living crisis? Let me know on isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com

Dates for your diary 📅

April 11. Junior doctors start four-day strike starting at 7am, ending at 7am on April 15. 

April 17. What is the real cost of food? Panel event organised by Global Food Security IRC at Cambridge University. 11am, online. 

April 25 to May 17. £301 cost of living payment to hit bank accounts of low-income households. Find out if you are eligible.  

April 26. Cost of living and mental health in the sport sector. This event will be run by Mind and will increase your knowledge and awareness of how to support your workforce's mental health during the cost of living crisis. 11:30am, online. 

April 27. Teachers strike with the National Education Union. 

April 28. All out strike from over 130,000 civil servants and public servants with the PCS Union. 

May 2 to May 9. People who receive tax credits and no other eligible benefits will receive their cost of living payments.

May 2. Teachers strike with the National Education Union. 

May 11. Citizens Advice May Cost of Living Briefing. These events are always insightful and give a real overview of the (often bleak) situation on the frontline of the cost of living crisis. This time Citizens Advice will be joined by the IPPR and IFS. 11am, online. 

Catch up 📺

Eat the rich! In fact, better yet, do what the film Triangle of Sadness does by putting them all on a yacht and making them slip on their own vomit from eating pretentiously-served octopus tentacles.

This week’s cultural recommendation comes from my wonderful colleague Eliza (who you may recognise as the face of the Big Issue on TikTok). She urges you to scrap your evening plans and watch Ruben Östlund’s satirical film. Revel in the social commentary on colonialism, upper-class absurdity, gender politics and power struggles. Stream it on Amazon Prime tonight – it’s delightfully wicked.

Sunny side up 🌞

Doris the cow really didn’t want to get up this morning. And who can blame her? I’m very ready for the bank holiday lie-ins too. Happy Easter everyone!