Why Free School Meals during holidays are necessary
“But parents normally manage to feed their own children…”
It’s been a week since the Free School Meals situation exploded.
Marcus Rashford and Jack Monroe kicked off at people. The government said that it was totally unacceptable, and then remembered that they had signed off on the contents of the parcels. Matt Hancock found it hard to admit that he was against providing food for hungry children.
Eventually it was decided that the voucher scheme from Lockdown 1 was returning.
Chartwells were put under fire from all areas of the media. Somehow Innovate from Impact Food Group managed to slip under the radar for the most part.
Everyone agreed about how terrible it was, and that things Must Be Better.
Huzzah! Children would live!
The next day, they all had a chat and decided that maybe they had been a bit rash, and that children should only eat during term time. Don’t want them getting ahead of themselves and thinking that they should get food during half term too.
The cry has gone out from the public (those who are not struggling to feed their children) “But they don’t get fed by school in holidays normally, why should they now?!?”
Well, let me explain.
Without even going into just how little Universal Credit provides, the key detail here is: They are not AT school now.
Non-lockdown life involves everyone leaving the house for the day for work, school etc. Or maybe someone is at home, but not an entire household. The lights are off, computers are off, heating is off.
Lockdown life however, has everyone at home, using the house. The heating is likely on, because it is winter. The internet is being used, the electricity. Several children home means several computers running (yes, poor people have computers — schools are ensuring this so that children don’t have to lose their education), some may be doing school via mobile phones, again, running up the bill, even more water is being used. All of this means that the income that they were barely surviving on beforehand must be stretched even further.
There is no extra money to go round, but the bills are higher.
THIS is why Free School Meals are necessary during holidays too now.
