THOUSANDS of children and young people in York will benefit from Free School Meals and access to a number of free and fun activities during the Easter Holidays.

The support follows City of York boosting its spend on the initiative.

The council says with the cost of living increasing, it has decided to put forward an extra £57,000 to fund Free School Meals vouchers and provide additional support to help York residents.

The support package is being split so eligible families will be able to access a £15 food voucher, funded by the council, and can also get access to the Holiday and Activities Food programme, supported by Government funding. In doing so, children and young people in the city can enjoy a wide range of fun and exciting free activities during the Easter holiday.

The programme is open to children in years reception to year 11 (reception aged 4 – 16 years old) and who are eligible for free school meals. As well as 'exciting activities' a free lunch is also included.

Since October 2021, City of York Council says it has spent £304,000 in providing Free School Meal vouchers alongside government funding to ensure support was available to families during school holidays.

Cllr Nigel Ayre, Executive Member for Finance & Performance, said: "Despite our limited budgets, we are doing what we can to support families across the city and with the increasing cost of living. I sincerely hope that families find the vouchers helpful and the activities programme enjoyable.

"When we set the council budget, we anticipated that funding from central Government would continue to be absent and thus, set aside £100,000 to assist with Holiday Hunger in the short-term whilst we develop a long-term strategy to support families.

"This immediate help will support families straight away alongside other activities, advice and support."

Cllr Denise Craghill, Executive Member for Housing and Safer Neighbourhoods and joint member champion on Financial Inclusion and Food Poverty, added: "At this incredibly difficult time we are supporting families in a range of ways to manage their household costs, these vouchers and school activities are critical to that alongside issuing fuel vouchers, emergency York Financial Assistance scheme and the extended Household Support Grant which will be available to our residents over the next few months."

Cllr Ian Cuthbertson, Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, said:

With the cost of living increasing we are committed to doing everything we can to support families. We hope this additional funding for vouchers and the holiday and activities food programme will take some of the pressure off families this Easter and that children can enjoy the activities on offer during the holiday.

Details about the scheme can be found at www.yor-ok.org.uk/HAF. Those who are eligible can access this support (vouchers and activities) through their school.

City of York Council also details the range of support available at www.york.gov.uk/benefits