News

It joins supermarket chains Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose and M&S where vouchers can be redeemed; Aldi vouchers will be available from week commencing 27 April. The Department for Education (DfE) is continuing work with voucher provider Edenred to get more shops to join the scheme;

Schools can continue to provide meals and food parcels for collection or delivery themselves, but where this is not possible, the scheme allows schools to provide vouchers to families electronically, or as a gift card in the post for those without internet access.

By giving headteachers flexibility on how they can get meals or vouchers to these children, they can make the most appropriate decisions for families in their communities, and provide reassurance that this important support will continue.

Minister for Children and Families Vicky Ford said:
“We are focused on making sure that the 1.3 million disadvantaged children who would normally have a free school meal do not go hungry as a result of staying home to protect the NHS and save lives.

We encourage schools to work with their suppliers to arrange food parcels or collections. Where this is not possible, we have launched a national scheme for schools to provide supermarket vouchers.

So far, Edenred report that £15 million worth of vouchers have been converted into supermarket gift cards by schools and families.”