Food vouchers worth more than £1m could be made available to school children in East Sussex later this year.
Next Tuesday (April 26), East Sussex County Council’s lead member for education Bob Standley will be asked to sign off on plans to spend £1.1m on food vouchers for the families of children who receive free school meals.
The money would be drawn from the latest round of the government’s Household Support Fund, of which the council has been allocated just shy of £3.9m.
If approved, the first round of vouchers would be made available during the May half term holiday, with families set to receive £15 per child.
Vouchers would also be made available over the summer holidays, although at £45 per child for the full six weeks, it would fall short of the £15 per week made available under previous similar schemes.
The council says the reason for this lower payment is because it would give it more flexibility to target its grant funding in line with the government’s spending criteria. This includes targeted support for pensioners and on energy bills, as well as direct distribution to vulnerable families and children via its children’s services teams.
However, the council says those eligible for food vouchers will also be able to access the Holidays Activity and Food programme. This programme will be running in the summer holidays and provides access to fully-funded holiday activities and lunch for those eligible.
According to the council, there are approximately 18,445 children and young people that are eligible for free school meals in East Sussex.
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