Council to provide struggling family's with meal vouchers this half term

During this month’s schools half-term holiday, Sefton Council will be supporting over 9,000 local families by providing them with meal vouchers.

Families eligible for free school meals can use the vouchers, worth £15 per child per week to buy food from local supermarkets, either in-store or online.

Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing said:

“During each school holiday we have provided this support for local families.

“This year, many already-struggling households are facing a double whammy of much higher fuel bills and rising prices in the shops, as a result of inflation.

“Even though the Government eventually agreed to providing households with a loan to keep bills down for now, families across Sefton are facing a cost of living crisis.

“Or what must, for those facing choices between heating or eating, must feel more like a cost of surviving crisis.

“I am glad Sefton Council is at least able to provide those families with some direct assistance and reassurance through the school holiday meal voucher scheme.”

Accepted by supermarkets across Sefton, the half-term meals vouchers can only be spent on food and essentials and can’t be used to purchase alcohol, tobacco, lottery tickets, phone top-ups or stamps.

Free school meals and how to apply for them is one of the areas covered in the special Cost of Living section that Sefton Council has set up on its website at www.sefton.gov.uk/costofliving. Other areas include Welfare Benefits, help with rent and Council Tax, debt advice, health and wellbeing, foodbanks & food pantries and a link to the Sefton Support Hub.

Additionally, there are details of the Emergency Limited Assistance (ELAS) scheme, which can provide a one-off payment to Sefton residents experiencing severe hardship, a disaster or emergency.

Cllr Hardy also welcomed the findings of research carried out by PWC on behalf of charity Impact on Urban Health which has shown that expanding free school meals provisions nationally could generate up to £41.3bn for the economy.

She said:
“Our main aim in providing this holidays support has been to feed children in Sefton and prevent the long-term health problems that a poor nourishment can cause, even when the Government has appeared reluctant to do so.

“However, these new findings should encourage our growth-focused Prime Minister to expand the scheme in the future to ensure that no child goes hungry in Sefton or anywhere else, and that the economy benefits at the same time.”

Free school meals is one of the links on the cost of living page Sefton Council created to put information on support and advice in one place on its website at www.sefton.gov.uk/cost-of-living .

Because there are those who do not have easy access to digital information, the Council has also produced and distributed an easy-print factsheet. It contains advice about support available as well as a reminder that there is free computer and Wi-Fi access at all Sefton Council Libraries. People just need to visit their local branch to find out more.

The factsheet can be downloaded from www.sefton.gov.uk/factsheet and the Council’s Contact Centre can also be contacted on 0345 140 0845.