The council will be able to offer food vouchers to local families over the Easter holidays thanks to an additional £300,000 of funding from the government’s Covid winter grant scheme.
The funding will be available to thousands of children in Brighton & Hove who could otherwise go hungry.
Families will receive a £20 per child supermarket food voucher each week during the Easter holidays from 1 April until 16 April, 2021.
Those entitled to the vouchers are families with children who are receiving:
- Free school meals at school or who are being home educated but would be eligible for free school meals
- A free child-care place for 2-year-olds or Early Year Pupil Premium for 3 and 4-year-olds in their nursery
- Using the Children’s Centre food bank
- Families with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF)
- Children who are vulnerable and requiring support but not eligible for free school meals
- Pupils at 6th form and FE colleges who are entitled to free school meals.
Councillor Hannah Clare, chair of the children, young people and skills committee, said:
“I’m pleased to see the extension of grant funding that will provide families with food over the Easter holidays. I want to in advance thank our teams who will be working to ensure that everyone eligible gets this support.
“However, we still need a long-term solution for children in poverty and I urge the Government to give families the assurance they need for every holiday, not just in the short-term.”
The funding will include an extra £90,000 which was underspent in unredeemed vouchers from the previous allocation during the winter and February half-term and it is expected that around 10,000 vouchers will be issued.
A range of supermarket chains throughout the city can be used by families including Asda, Aldi Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Iceland.
Families who are eligible will be sent an email or text with a link to where they can redeem their voucher.
