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Free School Meals Scheme Extended
20th June 2020
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Children in England who are eligible for free school meals will receive a six-week food voucher to cover the summer holiday period, after a high-profile campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford.
The Government says 1.3 million children in England will benefit from its Covid Summer Food Fund. The food vouchers will be worth £15 per week per eligible child.
This is good news for Foodbanks who normally see a rise in the number of clients from households with children during the school holidays.
The Trussell Trust tweeted a thank you to Marcus Rashford for his letter to MPs:
“No child should face going hungry and it’s completely unacceptable that the number of families needing food banks has doubled.
Thank you Marcus Rashford for writing this powerful letter raising issues around the 5-week wait for Universal Credit and the 2 child limit. Your work helping to support children across the UK with FareShare is vital #ThisCanChange
https://www.facebook.com/bbcbreakfast/videos/592847391608907/“
This news follows on from the announcement made on Thursday 11th June that £63 million will be directed towards Local Authorities in England to help those who are struggling to afford food and other essentials due to coronavirus. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/63-million-for-local-authorities-to-assist-those-struggling-to-afford-food-and-other-essentials. You can read the Trussell Trust’s response to this welcome announcement here: https://www.trusselltrust.org/2020/06/12/lifeline/.