Children in Tooting will continue to receive free school meals during the upcoming school holidays, it has been revealed.

Thousands of schoolchildren from across Wandsworth borough will be having free school meals in the up and coming October half-term, as well as the Christmas holiday and February 2022 half-term.

Unlike other boroughs where pre-packed food parcels are distributed, parents in Wandsworth are able to download vouchers which can be exchanged for food at the supermarket of their choice.

All of the families that qualify for this support will be contacted by their schools; there is no need to apply for the help.

The council's cabinet member for children's services Will Sweet said: "Since the beginning of the pandemic we have been hugely mindful of the need to continue to support children who receive free school meals. We were absolutely determined to make sure that these children did not go hungry because they weren't at school.

"And we made the very early decision that we needed to continue this support over the school holidays. Our priority from the beginning has been to make sure Wandsworth children are safe, healthy and properly fed.

"Our voucher scheme delivers the funding directly to where it's needed and allows parents to decide what their child would like for lunch. Parents know what's best for their own children, which is why in Wandsworth we give them vouchers, not food parcels."

The voucher scheme was launched in May 2020 and was the first of its kind in the country to appear. Since then, it has delivered tens of thousands to families on lower incomes.

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