Free Meals And Easter Holiday Activities For Disadvantaged Children In Central Bedfordshire

Central Bedfordshire Council will provide free meals to 5,700 children over the Easter period, after receiving further funding from the Government to support disadvantaged families. 

Families will receive a £40 supermarket voucher for each child or young person in their household who is eligible for free school meals. This includes £15 for each week of the holiday period, and a further £10 to factor in the additional financial pressures put on families during the recent cold months.

The support has been made possible after the Department for Work and Pensions announced an extension to its Winter Grant Scheme, introduced at the end of last year to support struggling families.

Some of these families will also get an extra boost over the Easter break, as the council will be offering free holiday activities to children and young people aged five and upwards who are eligible for free school meals. Participants can get involved with virtual activities and holiday clubs, funded through the Government’s holiday activity and food programme, which provides enriching activities to disadvantaged children. Activities will also be offered during this year’s summer and Christmas holidays as well.

The council will be working directly with school and social workers to reach out to all eligible families directly with details of how to access both schemes.

Councillor Sue Clark, Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, said: “We’re delighted to be able support disadvantaged families again during the holiday period and the extra funding from the Department for Work and Pensions has allowed us to provide a little extra for these families at this difficult time.

“We are also delighted to be participating in the Government’s new holiday activity and food programme, which will offer a range of face-to-face and virtual activities to disadvantaged children who are less likely to access organised out of school activities due to financial pressures. This group are more likely to experience social isolation, so we are pleased to be part of this fantastic programme and I encourage all eligible children and young people to get involved.”

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