Bolton Council has welcomed the news parents with children on free school meals will be able to get vouchers again from Monday, January 18th.
This week the government announced councils can offer food vouchers as an option again - in addition to packed lunches or food parcels for parents of pupils currently not able to attend school.
Bolton's food parcels for pupils on free school meals have been widely praised
An extra £3.50 per pupil per week has also been made available to enhance food parcels going out to families.
Bolton Council's school catering service is currently providing a range of options for families - and has earned praise for the quality of its food parcels and packed lunches.
Food is currently delivered to schools in the borough with parents able to collect packed lunches or food parcels from their child's school. The service has also teamed up with local charity Urban Outreach who are also delivering food parcels and packed lunches to parents unable to come into school because they are isolating.
Cllr Adele Warren, Executive Cabinet Member for Environmental Services Delivery said: "The council's school catering service has been doing a fantastic job putting together great quality packed lunches and food parcels during the latest lockdown. These have been a lifeline for children on free school meals, and parents seem really happy with the quality of what's being provided.
"Bolton's schools are of course currently open for the children of critical workers - and where these pupils are on free school meals the catering service is providing a choice of a hot meal or packed lunch in school.
"There has been a lot of criticism of food parcels this week on social media however I'm pleased to report that in Bolton we are getting it right and providing a good balance of nutritious food and ingredients in the food parcels.
"The photos we've seen online and in the news this week aren't representative of what families in Bolton are receiving.
"I'm proud of the work the schools catering service is doing during the lockdown. Staff are doing their best to make sure all our children, whether they are in school or studying from home, are getting properly fed at this difficult time.
"We welcome feedback from parents - but please don't be afraid to tell us if you are happy with the food parcels or packed lunches!"
The schools catering service is currently discussing with each school in the borough which option parents want from Monday onwards.
The service says the additional funding provided this week has enabled it to enhance food parcels provision which typically contain items including bread, pasta, fresh fruit and vegetables, yogurts, milk, cheese tinned tomatoes and beans.
Bolton Council has also confirmed that help will be made available to families during the February half-term week.
Bolton Council’s Executive Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Cllr Anne Galloway, said: “With February half term coming up, all children receiving free school meals will automatically be getting £20 vouchers for the week to cover the cost of food. The Council is providing this from the Covid Winter Support Grant of £1.1 million from the Government.
“The vouchers will also be provided to families who receive Council Tax support and have pre-school age children and children aged 16-19. Over 14,000 children across the borough will benefit. The pandemic is causing a lot of families to struggle financially and this will help to ease the pressures they are facing.”