Free school meal vouchers return for October half term

Free school meal vouchers will be available for eligible Blackburn with Darwen children for the October half term.

They can be used in both Blackburn and Darwen Markets and are valid throughout the half term. Some vouchers can be used at supermarkets – your child’s school will specify this.

All children eligible for free school meals in the borough will receive the vouchers.

It is part of the new Household Support Fund (HSF) announced by the Government which is being made available to Councils across England to support those most in need during the final stages of economic recovery, in response to the pandemic.

The scheme was announced last week. Due to the time constraints, the Council are working quickly with schools to either:

• Fund schools to either purchase supermarket vouchers and purchase this to eligible children
• Provide Blackburn and Darwen Market vouchers to schools to distribute to eligible children

Due to the tight timescales and differing half term holidays, some schools may have to distribute vouchers retrospectively to eligible children if vouchers cannot be issued in time for use during the half term break.

Councillor Julie Gunn, Executive Member for Children’s, Young People and Education, said:

We are delighted The Department for Works and Pensions has announced the details of the new Household Support Fund just in time for half term.

We are really pleased again for this half term to be able to help provide for the children in the borough who need it most. The pandemic is still with us for now and has made many families and childrens’ lives much more difficult. We want to do everything we can to help them with this.

Once again the stall holders in the market have been fantastic and continue to help with this important scheme. We are really grateful and I hope our families involved with the voucher scheme will enjoy the amazing food at our markets.”

The Blackburn with Darwen Help Hub is still supporting people in need across the borough, helping residents accessing food and essentials and so much more. They can be contacted on: (01254) 588111.