Council makes families facing food poverty pay for support over summer

Alec Doyle, Local Democracy Reporter

Families facing food poverty through the summer holidays will now have to pay for the support they receive from the local authority.

With the school summer holidays already underway, Flintshire County Council has now revealed how it has replaced its Holiday Hunger scheme.

According to food poverty organisation feeding Britain, the loss of free school meals during the holidays costs a family between £30 and £40 per week – money many poorer families simply do not have.

Holiday Hunger was introduced in 2023 to replace direct Welsh Government funding to support families facing food poverty.

It gave households eligible for free school meals a payment of £50 to support the additional costs of children’s lunches through the six-week break.

Last year the council decided it needed to replace Holiday Hunger with a new scheme, with a view to phasing out the council’s financial responsibility to the scheme within five years.

But its replacement will ask the most vulnerable families to pay an additional £5 for a box containing a variety of ingredients, breakfast items and recipe cards.

It has teamed up with an organisation called Well-Fed. Based in Shotton, Well-Fed is a social enterprise that says its mission is to provide good food for everyone.

The New Scheme

Vicky Clark, Chief Officer for Housing and Communities, said: “Over the past few years, Flintshire County Council has provided direct payments to eligible families to help replace Free School Meals during the holidays.

“That scheme has now come to an end, and the payments will no longer be made.

“The council remains committed to supporting families and has developed an alternative approach to providing support during school holidays.

“In partnership with Well-Fed, the Council will offer support with the cost of food over the holidays to families who receive eligibility-based Free School Meals.

“Families will be invited to claim a recipe box from Well-Fed for £5, which will contain a variety of ingredients and corresponding recipe cards, along with breakfast items.

“Families will be contacted directly over the summer with more information about the offer and how to claim it. They do not need to do anything in the meantime.”

If families do not receive information they are asked to email [email protected].

Ms Clarke said if families were struggling that the council also offered additional support through its website.

“The council’s Cost of Living Hub provides information about a wide range of support available to help with food, energy costs, finances and other household essentials at flintshire.gov.uk/costofliving,” she said.

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