5,000 signatures reached
To: Department of Education and Boris Johnson
Fix the food voucher system so no child goes hungry
Dramatically improve the way the voucher system works now so all families get the food they need
Why is this important?
Almost a fifth of UK homes with children are going hungry in lockdown. Families who usually get free schools have been promised government help while schools are closed but the reality is a litany of missed payments and problems with vouchers. It’s not good enough.
As a single parent who uses the voucher scheme I have personally experienced the issues with the food voucher system. Multiple times I've been waiting for sometimes an hour or more just for the voucher website to crash. We only received the first voucher 5 weeks into lockdown, that's 5 weeks of struggling to give my child decent food. My child is just one of 1.3million who rely on these vouchers and it's just not fair. With the pandemic, it's harder to get out and shop, harder to get to a food bank if you need to, so these vouchers are a lifeline for families that need them.
Experts like the Food Foundation are calling out the government for not doing enough. Children deserve to have food on the table. Together we can make sure no child goes hungry during this crisis.
