[quote movingonup20]@oakleaffy
Unfortunately giving asda vouchers (which one mumsnetter said she got for half term in lieu of fsm) isn't going to stop neglect, the parent can spend them on anything but alcohol or tobacco in fact.
A far better voucher system is what we received in the USA when we lived there, it specified exactly what we could receive - cereal, milk, eggs, cheese, carrots, tuna, apple juice, dried beans or peanut butter and formula (if under 1). The quantities were so plentiful too that we could give some to our neighbours with older kids who didn't qualify for this scheme. We had to earn under $40k to receive it which we thought was very generous compared to the U.K.
Neglect is so hard to legislate for but having school kitchens open during holidays would be more helpful probably than vouchers when taking into account those not being fed due to neglect/parent spending money on other things. Those where the situation is just insufficient income could be helped by general supermarket vouchers or uplift in benefits though [/quote]
To be fair though, that applies to purposeful neglect or failing to put children’s needs above the parents wants. That isn’t about poverty purely, it’s about the parents not being able to parent so bit of a different issue (though can overlap in some cases). This is about providing food to families who can’t afford it, rather than families with parents who need therapy to help them learn to parent. I’ve experience with both types of families, but the issue with the specific vouchers in the US tends to be that anyone with issues like nut allergies, intolerances etc are unable to use that so there have to be a wider amount available. Providing the food itself in a food bank way could help, as could your suggestion of kitchens opening over half term, but there will always be children who are neglected despite this. For example, Parents with addictions or mental health issues not taking them to school kitchens during holidays for meals would not get fed, children with parents who do not shop may not get fed or may need to work out vouchers themselves. Even those without food storage due to poverty (not neglect) may not be able to keep fresh milk etc as they do not have a fridge so it lasts a very short time.
Just think this is important to point out as free school meals may help some neglected children, but it is the neglect that needs solving in that case with family workers putting in plans and support, aiding in attending meetings, giving mental health help and addiction support and so on. For those in poverty, parents can be perfectly able to put children’s needs above their own, but do not manage to earn enough to feed them for a variety of reasons. In these cases, access to food is the issue and all access to food (hopefully a wide range as those with intolerances and allergies need that) is helpful. They should both be conflated as one singular issue as its far more complex than that.