Children across West Cornwall who are eligible for free school meals will benefit from a national voucher scheme allowing them to continue to access meals whilst they stay at home.
Schools can now provide every eligible child with a weekly shopping voucher worth £15 to spend at supermarkets while schools are closed due to coronavirus.
Schools can continue to provide meals for collection or delivery themselves, but where this is not possible, the scheme will allow schools to provide vouchers to families electronically, or as a gift card for those without internet access.
The vouchers can be spent on food at a range of shops including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose and M&S, with the Department working to get more shops to join the scheme as soon as possible.
Commenting on the voucher scheme announcement by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson, Derek Thomas MP said: “This is welcome new for many local families and will help to ensure children get healthy nutritious meals out of school
“No child should go hungry as a result of the measures introduced to keep people at home, protect the NHS and save lives.”
Parents will receive the voucher through their child’s school, which can then be redeemed online via a code, or sent to their house as a gift card and used at supermarkets across the country.
