School meal payments made to parents today – but is £13.50 a week enough?
Last updated 15th Jan 2021
Special report by SARAH MCKINLEY
Parents of children who receive free school meals will today (Friday) receive a lump sum of £2.70 a day, to cover January 4 to January 22, while schooling is being done remotely.
Northern Ireland is operating a cash instalment system, which the Department of Education said, affords choice and flexibility to families regarding where they shop, and what they purchase.
The payment comes after a week of controversy over food bundles which replaced vouchers for supermarkets in England.
On Thursday night, footballer Marcus Rashford, who has spearheaded a campaign for free school dinners during lockdown, wrote to Boris Johnson calling for an urgent review of the Government's free school meals policy following mass condemnation of photos of meagre rations which were alleged to have been worth £30.
Money deposited directly into parents’ bank accounts has been largely welcomed. However, questions have been raised as to whether this is enough to keep families here above the breadline, after a year that has financially crippled many in our society and exacerbated existing problems with local poverty.
Foodbank numbers ‘soar’ as families struggle
As many as 750 food packs are being distributed via schools in North Belfast, as local volunteers try to supplement families struggling with low income and increased expenditure.
Councillor Nichola Bradley volunteers at the Community foodbank in the Ardoyne area of North Belfast.
Cllr Bradley, who works in benefits, says additional money for school lunches is helpful to parents, but it still does not meet bills which she said had ‘spiralled’ because of the ‘stay at home’ rules.
“When we first started off three years ago, we had low numbers, maybe 30 families a week – at present it could be 700 families,” she said, adding that numbers then soared when covid hit.
“The fact that the parents are getting the additional money on top of the universal credit is definitely helping people, it’s making a difference, but because of the money that families are paying out, like heating and electric, children in the house all day long, people who’ve lost their jobs are in the house all day long, so those sort of costs are spiralling.
“People are having to up their WIFI usage and buy devices that their kids can go on for home school, and awful lot of additional costs at the minute that cant be met, so we’re just doing whatever little bit we can basically, to help.”
Local teacher Sean said: “It’s an insult. How you’re meant to feel a child, properly, and sustain them on about £2 a day… One advantage schools have with their payments is that they can bulk buy. They can talk to suppliers and they can get better value for their money.
“But the parents on an individual basis, they can’t avail of that same opportunity. They have to go to the shop and buy an individualised meal – and as we both know, you wouldn’t be buying much in the shop for £2.”
Is it enough?
Downtown Cool FM News asked the Department if it deemed the payment of £13.50 per week of home-schooling to be an adequate sum.
A spokesperson said it was considered a ‘reasonable’ amount to buy ‘healthy, nutritious food’.
The statement said: “The Department determined that rather than provide vouchers to parents it would provide a payment to parents whose children are in receipt of Free School Meals.
“The payment gives parents a choice as to what food they buy and from which supermarket/shop they buy it.
“The direct payment to parents of children in lieu of Free School Meals is £2.70 per child per school day. This equates to £13.50 per week per child.
“This is based on the average cost of a school meal to paying pupils. When the decision was made to make direct payments in lieu of free school meals the figure of £2.70 per day (£13.50 per week) was considered a reasonable amount, allowing parents the opportunity to purchase healthy, nutritious food.“
How can people help their neighbours in need?
Anyone who is in a privileged position to assist others in need, Cllr Bradley says, should not have to look too far to find out how they can do so.
“One good thing that’s come out of covid, is the community response that’s come out across the board,” she added.
“So, if you’re lucky enough to be in a position that you can help, I would say tie in with your local churches, local community groups etcetera, because someone around you will be doing this.”
But Tomás, who works in education, and also volunteers at the Community Foodbank in North Belfast, reckons charity can’t be the solution to poverty.
“On the one hand, it’s very depressing, but on the other hand, it’s quite uplifting because you see there s whole breadth of sports bodies, community organisations, housing associations, schools coming together to identify need, so there’s a certain positive aspect to it – but it’s all underlined by ongoing inequality.
“Foodbanks aren’t the answer and we can’t accept that foodbanks are the answer. There is no absence of wealth in this society, it’s just concentration that’s an issue.
“It’s a vicious cycle, and it’s very difficult to break, but it can only be broken by a coordinated effort from all statutory bodies and everybody right across society.”