'The free school meal voucher scheme & children’s access to food during the Covid-19 crisis' is a new report funded by the Bristish Educational Research Association.

With schools closed in the UK in response to the Covid-19 crisis, children who would normally receive free school meals were at an elevated risk of food insecurity. However, the voucher scheme launched by the Department for Education in England proved problematic, particularly in the early stages of its rollout, causing difficulties for schools – which responded in often very different ways – as well as for young people and their families.

This report investigates the difficulties with accessing the food voucher scheme experienced by both parents and schools, particularly but not only during holiday provision in Easter and summer 2020. It explores schools’ responses to Covid-19 in relation to food, and the barriers to accessing the school food voucher scheme encountered by families, and discusses the development of a school food toolkit that responds to stakeholders’ feedback and concerns.

For more information and to download a copy of the report click here