Bath & North East Somerset Council is once again providing supermarket vouchers to families whose children are eligible for free school meals over the upcoming school holidays.

Families who applied to receive vouchers from the Council’s Christmas scheme will automatically receive a £20 voucher for the February half-term.

The Council has begun sending all previous voucher recipients an email asking them to confirm they would like a £20 voucher per child. Once confirmed, a further email will be sent containing the supermarket voucher codes.

New applications from families who have not claimed the

Families who received the vouchers at Christmas should not reapply, as it could cause a delay in them receiving their vouchers.

The electronic vouchers can be spent in a range of supermarkets and are available to the families of pupils entitled to benefit-related free school meals, as well as parents who receive free childcare for two-year-olds, where benefits are such that they would have been entitled to free school meals.

The scheme is part of a wide range of community support for vulnerable families, including FOOD clubs, food banks, welfare and financial support.

The scheme is funded from the Government’s Covid Winter Grant Scheme. There are currently more than 4,000 children in B&NES who

receive benefit-related free school meals.

3SG and St John’s Foundation have already allocated £55,000 from a local fundraising appeal to community-led food projects.