Children who get free school meals are eligible for the vouchers worth £15 a week
Vouchers have been given out since 2020(Image: Getty)
Parents in Bristol can get food vouchers over the school holidays to help feed their children if they receive free school meals.
The vouchers are for £15 per week per child with almost £4 million put aside by Bristol City Council this year.
Vouchers allow parents and carers to choose which supermarket they wish to purchase food over the holidays. They should contact the child’s school to find out about how to access the vouchers, which are paid for from the government’s Household Support Fund.
Liz Kendall, the welfare secretary(Image: GETTY)
In March Liz Kendall, the welfare secretary, slashed the budget for the Household Support Fund by £100 million. That leaves Bristol with about £1 million less to spend this year, with a total of £7.1 million left over.
Around 60 per cent of this will be spent on food vouchers, which won’t face budget cuts — although other support such as debt advice will receive less funding this year.
Throughout the year, the council will spend £3.8 million on food vouchers. This was approved by councillors on the strategy and resources policy committee.
Graham Clapp, head of revenue and benefits, said: “That’s a £15 voucher per child per week for the May, October and February half terms; £30 per child for the Christmas holidays and £90 per child for the summer holidays. That works out at about 60 per cent of the fund.”
Free school meal vouchers have been given to parents over the holidays since 2020.
As well as the vouchers, there is a range of options for people struggling to afford to buy enough healthy food.
The council will pay Feeding Bristol, a local charity, £650,000 this year to help with support such as food pantries and boxes of vegetables.
Labour Councillor Ellie King said: “It’s quite clear the importance of the work that Feeding Bristol do to support some of the vulnerable in the city. They’ve worked collaboratively with the council for years on food insecurity.
“But perhaps even more importantly they work with grassroots organisations to ensure that we’ve got affordable, accessible, nutritious and culturally appropriate food for the most vulnerable people in our city.”