‘WE WANT TO ENSURE CHILDREN GET A DECENT HALF-TERM MEAL’
Council offering school holiday food vouchers
UP to 18,000 pupils from low-income families across Staffordshire will be given free food vouchers during the half-term break.
Staffordshire County Council has stepped in to help following concerns over the impact of the pandemic, which has left many families struggling on tighter budgets.
It comes as Manchester United and England footballer
Marcus Rashford has been campaigning to get the Government to provide food vouchers during all school holidays in England.
Ministers have so far resisted, and all Tory MPS were whipped to vote against a Labour motion in Parliament this week which called for free school meals to be extended to holidays. The county council said its locally designed scheme will just cover next week’s half-term break as it can’t afford to fund long-term support. Schools say it is badly needed as holiday hunger is a growing issue across the county. Some parents have been forced to skip meals themselves to prevent their children going without food.
Councillor Mark Sutton, above, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “We know that times are hard for many families at the moment, with increased pressures on household budgets, so we wanted to help those in greater need to ensure that children can get a decent meal throughout the school holiday.”
Under the scheme, parents whose children qualify for free school meals on income grounds will be sent a £15 e-voucher for each child. This can then be used in major supermarkets for food or other essential supplies.
It is similar to the national food vouchers that were given out during lockdown. Schools have been asked to verify the details of families who are eligible and then, with their permission, pass on the information to the local authority. The vouchers are due to be sent to parents on Monday.
As well as the financial support, they can access virtual family hubs and get ideas for recipes.
The scheme is being funded through the council’s allocation from a Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) emergency assistance grant.
Sam Ray, executive headteacher of St Luke’s CE Primary School, in Silverdale, said: “It’s fantastic that the council is doing this.
“We’ve had an awful lot more families qualify for free school meals since the lockdown. It’s people who have lost their jobs.”
Between March and July, St Luke’s delivered food hampers to family homes instead of using the national food voucher scheme.
“It was great because we could see the quality of what was going in them,” added Mrs Ray. “When we delivered them, the parents and children were so excited.
“We also worked with the Alice Charity and, every two weeks, families got a free hot meal delivered.”
In Stoke-on-trent, The Hubb Foundation has been offering free meals to thousands of schoolchildren as part of holiday activity sessions.
But Stoke-on-trent City Council does not have a food voucher scheme.
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