Questions over school meal scheme

A Wishaw mum-of-two is calling on North Lanarkshire Council to allow parents to use their children’s school meal vouchers at supermarkets.

She believes that children’s diets may be limited by the range of food on offer at local convenience stores which take the vouchers.

The single parent, who has asked not to be identified due to the stigma attached to receiving vouchers, says the council scheme introduced to replace free school meals could be improved by allowing parents to exchange them at bigger supermarkets rather than confining them to local shops.

North Lanarkshire Council reacted quickly to implement the scheme following enforced school closures due to fears over COVID-19.

They are providing 18,000 pupils with a voucher worth £20 each week which can be exchanged for groceries at any store with a Paypoint terminal.

The mum said:“Of course they don’t want people travelling and they want to support local businesses, I get that from the council’s perspective and that’s great.

“But most of these shops don’t sell much apart from cigarettes, alcohol, papers and overpriced and highly refined foods.

“You can’t get brown bread or fruit and vegetables. School meals are principally about the child and not about supporting local businesses.

“It’s fine if you want to eat beans, pot noodles or super noodles but the whole point of free school meals is that kids have access to healthy food every day.

“I had to go to three shops the other day to find what I needed. I ended up going to a bigger Scotmid down at Pather.

“It’s embarrassing as it is, having to go into shops to spend the vouchers without having to go to more than one. That sort of defeats the purpose of social distancing.

“I’m in a better position than a lot of single parents who find themselves having to go around these shops.”

Initially when vouchers were introduced earlier this month they were able to be exchanged for cash but with some stores running short on cash council officials have since informed eligible families:“You must spend your cash in the shop where you exchange your voucher for two reasons – first, you must not make any unnecessary journeys to comply with government guidance, and second, you will be supporting local business.

“Funding for the additional element of this provision has come from the £3 million emergency fund which has been set up by the council to deal with the health crisis.” Another mum who contacted the Wishaw Press said:“Some families receive up to £60 in these vouchers and would rather go to a supermarket where they can buy decent shopping for their children’s meals.” A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said:“We are doing everything we can to support parents, carers and families throughout these extremely challenging times. “The system we have put in place supports 18,000 pupils who are entitled to free school meals in North Lanarkshire. “It provides a voucher for £20 per child per week to be used in a local store. “We chose Paypoint as most people have one local retailer in their area and it saves unnecessary travel to a supermarket and it supports local retailers. “We are providing recipe ideas through our social media channels. “Anyone requiring support or with further questions on the scheme should email: FME@northlan.gov.uk“