Wiltshire Council providing free meals for vulnerable children this half term
They say it will be reviewed throughout the pandemic as well.
Last updated 29th Oct 2020
Vulnerable children in Wiltshire are set to benefit from free meals this half term thanks to Wiltshire Council.
The authority have agreed to help families that are struggling with food poverty.
Cllr Laura Mayes, Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Skills, said:
"We know that many families are feeling the financial pressure during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we want to do all we can to support them.
We want to ensure that children do not go hungry during these school holidays and want to ensure that Wiltshire families know that they will be supported during these difficult times by putting these measures in place. Therefore the council will be funding free meals during the October half term. This will be reviewed throughout the pandemic and we will continue to make sure that any child and family who needs help gets it.
As we have done throughout, we will continue to work with our partners in the community and voluntary sector to make sure the needs of our residents are met at this unprecedented time. The work of our community groups has been, and continues to be, amazing and I must thank them for their tremendous support throughout the pandemic.
If you are entitled to free school meals or universal credit and struggling to pay for food over half term, please contact the Wiltshire Wellbeing Hub for support."
The news comes less than a week after MPs voted to reject extending the free school meals scheme, a campaign started by footballer, Marcus Rashford.
All of Wiltshire's MPs voted no, including Salisbury's John Glen.
Since then, there has been a lot of support from cafe's, restaurants and businesses across the country, all offering to help vulnerable children in some way.
In Salisbury, this includes:
- There4U
- Kludo & Inc
- George & Dragon pub
- Tinga
- Popeye's
- Royal Oak, Great Wishford - Wednesdays to Sundays
There's also many more running some sort of free meals scheme.
For more information on how to claim, contact the Wiltshire Wellbeing Hub Team on wellbeinghub@wiltshire.gov.uk or call 0300 003 4576.
HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL HELPING TOO
The authority's announced that they'll be supporting charities, food banks and other organisations to help families in need this half term as well.
Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Keith Mans said:
“It’s obviously not possible to introduce a ‘voucher scheme’ ourselves for this half-term, but it is my intention that Hampshire will provide the same level of support for the half term break that would have otherwise been provided through the Government’s previous voucher scheme, by targeting support to those families in real need via food banks, charities and other relevant organisations.
“The County Council is already facing huge unplanned financial pressures as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, and not helped by the latest tranche of funding from Government which was significantly lower than we expected. Nonetheless, supporting vulnerable families during the school holidays must be a priority. By using food banks, charities and other organisations, we hope to do this."
Councillor Mans also says he'll be writing to the Government to call for a more long-term solution to support people through the Christmas and Easter holidays.