Wandsworth Council says Tooting's most vulnerable children won't go hungry, some residents say more could be done

Councillors have approved a £10,000 food voucher scheme to help hard-pressed and vulnerable families in the borough cover the cost of meals during the school holiday.

This latest support mirrors a scheme launched by the council in May which provided 20,000 supermarket food vouchers to ensure children eligible for free school meals didn't go hungry during the lockdown.

This comes following Marcus Rashford's call for an extension of free school meals to include half-term and Christmas was rejected by the government.

Many residents have been praising Wandsworth Council's scheme, while some believe there is more that could be done.

Jenny Mitton, a Tooting resident, said: "Maybe look at what some of the other councils in London are doing @wandbc. This isn't enough. Be better than our government."

Wandsworth National Education Union, said: "Pleased to see that some support has been put in place, but this falls substantially short of providing for all children who are eligible for free school meals."

Home-Start Wandsworth said: "Fantastic news, well done."

Tarek Iskander said: "Great to hear!"

Parents whose children have a social worker or are receiving support from the borough's children's services department will be eligible for assistance in the scheme.

After they have contacted council staff and been approved for the support they will receive a voucher that can be redeemed in their supermarket of choice for food and not for other items.

The council's schools and education spokesman Cllr Will Sweet said: "This new voucher scheme builds on the success of our previous scheme earlier this year and will deliver food for vulnerable children who might otherwise run the risk of missing out on all the nutrition they need."

And the council's cabinet member for finance Rory O'Broin added: "We have happily set aside the funding that's needed to ensure children from some of our poorest families don't go hungry this half term."

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