Determined not to let any child go hungry this Christmas Wantage Town Council decided to fund free school meal vouchers for more than 400 school children.

After the Government revealed it would not be providing vouchers over the Christmas break, the council decided to go ahead to provide extra help in these difficult times.

Wantage Town Council have joined forces with local Lib Dem County Councillors Jenny Hannaby and Jane Hanna to give all children who are registered to get free school meals food vouchers.

Each child registered for free school meals is entitled to £30 for the two-week Christmas period.

The funding will cover two primary schools, one secondary school and a special needs school in Wantage plus two primary schools in Grove. Fitzwaryn Special School, Stockham Primary and King Alfred’s Academy have been provided with the funds for the vouchers.

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Councillor Hanna said: “These past nine months have been difficult for everyone but those families on very low incomes have been hardest hit and we hope that this will make it just a little easier for people to cope.”

Councillor Hannaby, herself a Governor at Stockham Primary said: “We are happy to have been able to join forces with Wantage Town Council and I’m really pleased to be able to help ensure children don’t go hungry over the festive period”.

Wantage councillor Andy Crawford, said there was a lot of “unease” from struggling families when the Government decided not to offer free school meals over Christmas.

Mr Crawford said: “The bottom line is we do not want to see children go hungry over Christmas; we do not want to see children go hungry anytime. Worrying about food is one thing we can help with. Parents having to worry about whether thy eat or whether their children eat is something I just do not think is acceptable.”

Mr Crawford said he would not rule out repeating this scheme again, however he hopes the Government will step in next time.