Thousands of school children in Stoke-on-Trent to benefit from food vouchers during Easter

Thousands of school children in Stoke-on-Trent to benefit from food vouchers during Easter

Thousands of families across Stoke-on-Trent who are entitled to free school meals, are set to be given supermarket vouchers for food during the Easter school break. It’s part of the multi-million-pound package of funding and support worth £2.6million that is being distributed to families and individuals over the Winter by Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

The city council are working in partnership with Wonde once again to issue supermarket vouchers to support families on free school meals and families where children have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) in place over the school break. Each family will get a £30 voucher per child.

This follows on from February half term where food vouchers were provided to over 15,000 children in the city.

Cllr Janine Bridges, cabinet member for the economy and education said: “We are pleased to be able to provide food vouchers again to support families as households continue to recover from the impact of the pandemic and the rise in the cost of living.

“Families do not need to apply for a voucher if their child is at a school in the city – schools will issue the vouchers directly for children who are eligible to receive them. We would ask families to contact their school if they haven’t received a voucher by the start of half-term.

“We would also ask city families with a child in receipt of an EHCP who attends a school outside the city or are educated at home to check our website to see if they are eligible for a voucher, and if so they can also apply online via www.stoke.gov.uk/foodvouchers or calling 01782 234234.”

The scheme is funded by the Department of Work and Pensions in order to help families access food and essential supplies. The vouchers can be redeemed at supermarket such as; Aldi, Asda, Iceland, McColls, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Tesco and Waitrose.

Over the Easter holiday the city council in partnership with the Hubb Foundation will once again be running the Holiday Activities and Food programme. More details about these sessions available to children aged between five and 16 and primarily aimed at children who are eligible for free school meals, will be released shortly.