'Completely unfair': parents on the school holiday meal vouchers refusal
Despite a public campaign by the footballer Marcus Rashford, the government has said it will not offer free school meal vouchers for children over the Christmas holidays. The Guardian spoke to four parents who receive the vouchers about what this means for them.
‘It took the anxiety away’
Helen, 43, Hertfordshire
“I’ve never worried about food since I had my daughter 15 years ago. I love cooking and have never had to cut back on food in any way until now.
“It was fine until lockdown, and then all my work just dried up. I’m a contractor, and when my last contract finished at the end of January, I couldn’t find another one. I saw the campaign about the vouchers in the media and thought: I need to sign up for this.
“It feels a bit shameful. I don’t know if I’ve actually told any of my friends. But it just took the anxiety away in terms of working out if I had enough money for food. It was only through the vouchers and a prolific courgette plant on my half-plot allotment that we didn’t go hungry.
“We’ll be OK this Christmas because I’m working two jobs now. One is in a supermarket, so we get money off food there, and we still have the allotment. But there’s still a feeling of sadness. I really feel so much gratitude to Marcus Rashford and his campaign because it really made such a difference to me, and there will be people who need that over Christmas.”
‘Food isn’t a privilege – it’s a right’
Jade Moira Lawrence, 33, London
“For a lot of parents, these vouchers minimise so much anxiety. My son, who is five, received free school meals before the pandemic, but I work in the arts, and that sector was hit really badly, so everything became more difficult.
“Because I’m freelance, I have to set my own rates. If I’m charging too much, I won’t get the work, but if I’m charging too little, I wonder: is universal credit going to cover bills, food, public transport or my phone bill? Little things like buying coffee add up, and that money could be used to put towards food next month. We’re all human calculators at the moment.
“The decision not to carry the vouchers on during the holidays is completely unfair on parents and children. Why are we debating food? Food isn’t a privilege, it’s a right. We have to eat to grow and live healthy lives.
“It doesn’t come as a surprise given the amount of cuts that the government have had to make, but it worries me that I won’t be able to get the gifts my son wants or deserves for Christmas. It’s a constant worry.”
‘Deeper and deeper into poverty’
Jenny*, 41, Liverpool
“Normally, I don’t feel the benefit of my kids having a free school meal, but £30 a week in vouchers makes a massive difference to my budget, because it doesn’t cost me £30 a week to make their lunch. I cook everything from scratch and we eat very cheaply.
“I was unemployed before the pandemic, but not for very long, and it’s meant that the amount of jobs has dropped and it’s become harder to find work.
“Universal credit is not enough to live on. I get £450 a month for housing, but my rent for a two-bedroom house is £750, and I really need to move to a three-bedroom house now my children are getting older. I’m a single parent and childcare is a big barrier. I couldn’t take a minimum-wage job because it wouldn’t cover childcare. It makes me feel like I’m being sucked deeper and deeper into poverty.
“The free school meal vouchers definitely eased money worries. During the summer it meant I could do things I couldn’t normally do, like buy trainers. This Christmas we’ll get by, but I’ll have to rely on my family for anything extra.”
‘It’s a small amount for the government’
Samuel, 54, South Yorkshire
“My daughter was on free school meals before the pandemic, and I was on universal credit, so in some ways it’s not changed too much for us. But it does obstruct me in improving my situation as there are far fewer jobs, and I can’t go to charity shops, so it’s increased my expenses. I’m a single dad, and having £15 a week which you can’t spend on anything else is really useful.
“However, when I came to use the last voucher of the summer holidays, I found that they had changed the length of time it was valid for, from four months to one, without telling us. This meant I was four days too late. I lost out on £60 that I was entitled to. I felt cheated.
“The decision not to offer the vouchers over Christmas is wrong. It’s a small amount of money for the government, and there are added expenses this time of year. I don’t think the vouchers should keep going for a long time, but certainly up until Christmas. To not feed kids that are poor: there’s something inhumane about that.”
*Some names have been changed.
