A SUPERMARKET is to provide extra support to families receiving free school meal vouchers.
M&S announced it will top up the weekly £15 vouchers provided by the government by £5 for each lunch voucher redeemed at the supermarket.
The retailer says the extra £5 can be used to provide a healthy breakfast for children, as well as a lunchtime meal.
The move has been supported by footballer and food poverty campaigner Marcus Rashford MBE, who said: “As a child, I relied on breakfast clubs to kick-start my day the right way.
READ MORE: Class Divide: 'Working class children are being let down'
“Breakfast is so important to guarantee children have the ability to engage in learning, and to flourish within the education system, to go on to succeed at whatever they choose to do in life.
“Education is the most effective means of breaking cycles of hardship in some respects but education is only achievable with strong engagement and concentration.
“Unfortunately for the majority, hunger does not allow that.
“I thank M&S for taking the strong initiative to support the uplift of the vouchers to cover an essential meal of the day and I’m confident we will see a great response from those most vulnerable.”
Stuart Machin, food managing director at M&S, said the supermarket chain wants to do its bit to help struggling families during the coronavirus pandemic.
He said: “M&S always puts customers at the heart of what we do. Through bolstering the government’s £15 meal voucher to £20, we can ensure children get a nutritious breakfast as well as lunch and we are delighted that Marcus Rashford is supporting our efforts.
“We also continue our work to redistribute surplus food from our stores, supporting over 2,100 local causes, from food banks to youth clubs, with donations of more than 20 million meals since the scheme began in 2015.”
M&S has also produced a downloadable weekly meal planner to help parents shop and prepare simple breakfasts and lunches for two children, for under £20.
SEE ALSO: Sussex mum's photo of 'ridiculous' free school meal parcel
Created by the supermarket’s senior in-house nutritionist, Laura Street, the online meal planner includes inspiration for ten meals for two children, all with minimal food preparation, as well as tips on avoiding food waste.
The planner includes family favourites such as porridge with fruit, eggs and soldiers, flour tortilla pizzas with salad and tomato pasta.
Nutritionist Ms Street said: “Learning on Zoom will be challenging for many children, but we know that eating regular, balanced meals throughout the day can really help aid concentration.
“Parents are keeping enough plates spinning right now, so we’ve worked up an example meal planner and shopping list to offer some inspiration and help to keep meals varied and nutritionally balanced throughout the week.”
To redeem a voucher, parents need to exchange their eCode issued in the free school meals scheme for an M&S eGift card at www.selectyourcompliment.co.uk/grocery. The £15 e-voucher will automatically be loaded with an additional £5, making it a £20 M&S e-voucher to spend on food in store.
The online meal planner is available at www.marksandspencer.com/lunchplanner.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel