FROM this week, children who receive free school meals will get a hamper with ten days of food inside as well as children’s packed lunches.

This will affect around 7,000 children in Gloucestershire who qualify for free school meals.

The hamper comes with recipe cards so parents can cook with their children during this period of distancing.

The Department for Education (DfE) announced yesterday (Wednesday) additional funding for a supermarket voucher scheme, which will help schools to support families where they are not able to get free school meals to children through the council and Caterlink.

The DfE scheme means schools can provide eligible families with supermarket vouchers for term time weeks, worth £3 per lunch per child.

Gloucestershire County Council and their free school meals partner, Caterlink, are administering the scheme.

Cllr Richard Boyles, cabinet member for school support, said, “We are committed to supporting families as much as possible during these unprecedented times and the free school meals scheme is there to make sure children don’t go without. Working with schools and our catering partner we will be able to get food out to children and families who need it.”

The council started delivering packed lunches on 23 March, delivering around 2000 packed lunches a day to children in the county.

From this week, the hampers will help feed the rest of their families too with Caterlink receiving orders for over 1600 hampers during the last three days alone.

Children who are at school because their parents or carers are key workers are still getting lunches. Food deliveries to children who receive free school meals will continue during the Easter holidays.

More information about Free School Meals can be found via: gloucestershire.gov.uk/gloucestershires-community-help-hub/covid-19-schools-frequently-asked-questions/#FSM