The Government’s restoration of school food vouchers over the six-week summer holiday period after a campaign by footballer Marcus Rashford has been welcomed by Catholic organisations working with children.
Bernadette Fisher, director of Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society, told The Tablet the restoration “has been met by our families with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and relief”. She described the scheme during the pandemic as “a lifeline to many struggling families; the additional £15 or £30 per week (for two children) has provided an extra few meals in many homes”.
Yet there are concerns about long-term food poverty. “I am delighted that the Government has agreed to fund the free school meal voucher scheme over the summer holidays” said headteacher David Watson of St Thomas More Academy in Tyneside who raised the issue of child hunger during the pandemic in early May.
He too described it as “a lifeline” for many families. Yet, he told The Tablet, “I worry, however, that the Government is already framing this as a specific response to the Covid-19 pandemic, yet we know that this is an issue every school holiday for many families”.
He said support for families who rely on free school meals during school holidays is needed every year, not just this year. “I hope that Marcus Rashford's involvement will mean that the Government will continue to listen, and work with Citizens UK and others to find a permanent solution.”
Rosemary Keenan, chief executive of the Catholic Children’s Society in the South East, also welcomed the move but said: “It does not yet appear to be clear that the scheme includes all those children with parents who have no recourse to public funding – this would be a serious omission.”
She added: “The day we can cease from all our labours on child food poverty is the day that no child needs a free school meal and when that day comes we will have arrived at the beginning of a more equitable and just society, one rooted in the common good of all.”
Loading ...
