A FOOD voucher program for severely affected families in North Yorkshire is being expanded.
The county council’s Covid Winter Grant Scheme provided food voucher payments to parents and carers who had received free school meals, as well as those financially affected by the Covid pandemic, to cover the extra cost of groceries and other essentials during the school holidays cover up.
The program has now ended, but following a recent government announcement, payments will continue on this half-year vacation in May through the Department of Labor and Pensions’s Covid Local Support Grant.
Funding for the supermarket vouchers is now being sent out by the district council to schools, including academies, as well as to providers at a young age, child carers and carers.
The vouchers can be issued in supermarkets by eligible parents and cost £ 15 per child per week.
Cllr Patrick Mulligan said, “We are very grateful to the schools, kindergartens and child minders for their continued help in distributing the vouchers to parents and carers in need.
“We know the vouchers help ease the pressure on families when faced with increased food costs when children are out of school.”
All families who are not eligible for free school meals and have financial problems can contact the North Yorkshire Local Assistance Fund at northyorks.gov.uk/nylaf