How to get free school meal vouchers worth up to £90 over the summer holidays
SCHOOL'S out for most children tomorrow, but with a cost of living crisis bringing a sting to our wallets, many children can get vouchers to help with the cost of food.
For some parents, they’ll be claiming Universal Credit and in term time their children will receive school meals.
Don’t panic, the help doesn’t stop when the holidays start. You can claim vouchers to use at the supermarket that will be the equivalent of what your child receives at school.
Usually parents can claim up to £90 per child during the summer break, however, this can change depending on the area you live in.
For example, households in Sutton can claim £90 per child during the summer holiday - equating to a payment of £15 per week.
The summer holidays begin tomorrow (July 22) meaning the children will have a whole six weeks until August 31.
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However, holiday dates will vary between schools so make sure you check your child's summer holidays dates.
Since the beginning of the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, the Government has provided children with free school meals.
The programme was meant to be scrapped during the summer of 2020 but footballer Marcus Rashford campaigned for the funding to remain.
Therefore, the Government decided that local authorities should decide if they wanted to continue the programme through the Household Support Fund.
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The help given to each family depends on the local authority.
For example with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham council you could be entitled to free school meals and clothing grants to help with school uniform costs.
Islington Council provides free school meals for children attending, children’s centres, early years centres, primary school or secondary school in the area.
The council can also pay you £150 towards the cost of school uniforms when your child transfers to secondary school from their last year, year 6, in primary school.
Lewisham Council provides free school meals for primary and secondary years if your annual income is below £16,190 and you receive one of the accepted benefits.
Who is eligible to apply?
Children who are eligible for free school meals must be parents who claim benefits. The benefits included are:
- Income support
- Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
- Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
- Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act in 1999
- The guaranteed element of Pension Credit
- Child Tax Credit (provided you're not entitled to Working Tax Credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190)
- Working Tax Credit run-on paid for 4 weeks until you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit
- Universal Credit
If your child receives free school meals during term time then they should be entitled to vouchers during the holidays also.
However, check with your local council as this can change between areas.
Try and apply through the website or school.
Where can I spend free school meal vouchers?
You can claim the vouchers at all major supermarkets:
Check with the school to see if any supermarkets won’t be able to accept them.
If you’re not entitled to free school meals there may be other schemes that can help you.
You could be £480 a year better off under new plans to tackle childcare costs.
Households could miss out on £150 council tax rebate due to loophole in application rule make sure you don't get caught out.
You could also be entitled to free cash help if you're struggling with rent. Find out more here.
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You may also be owed £1,000s in cost of living support payments
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Here's everything you need to know about what's on offer.
- All the key dates for cost of living payments revealed
- Every household will get a £400 cost of living payment to help with energy bills
- See the full list of benefits eligible for £650 cost of living cash
- Here's free cash you can get if you DON’T qualify for the £650 cost of living payment
- Disabled Brits will get £150 this September
- Parents can get up to £200 towards school uniform costs