The most vulnerable children across Bath and North East Somerset are to benefit from a ‘top-up’ to the summer free school meals voucher scheme.
Each eligible family will receive an extra £5 per child per week on top of the £15 per child per week already provided by Bath & North East Somerset Council.
This means an extra £30 per child on free school meals over the six-week holiday period, so families will receive £120 in total per child during the summer.
The support is being provided in the form of e-vouchers that can be spent in supermarkets for parents and carers of children who receive benefit-related free school meals and children who meet similar criteria in early years settings.
More than 2,000 families in Bath and North East Somerset are in receipt of the vouchers, with more than 4,000 local children benefitting from the scheme.
Eligible families will be contacted via email from 26th August with instructions on how to receive an additional £30 voucher to cover the extra £5 top-up.
Parents are advised to confirm they wish to receive the vouchers by clicking on the link in the emails sent as soon as possible.
Councillor Dine Romero, cabinet member for Children and Young People, Communities and Culture, said: “It is absolutely right that we recognise the impact that Covid has had on our most vulnerable families, and so we have provided additional resources to combat ‘holiday hunger’ this summer.
“We must ensure that those in greatest need do not suffer over the summer holidays, with extra meals needing to be provided alongside rising food prices.”
The top-up scheme is part of a package of support for vulnerable young people this summer including the BreakOut programme, a free summer holiday activity scheme being led by Bath Rugby Foundation with more than £400,000 of funding secured by the council.
For more information on the support available for parents and carers, click here.
