FOOD vouchers and holiday activity packs are being given out to support low income families across North Yorkshire over Easter.

The Covid Winter Grant Scheme run through North Yorkshire county council will give food vouchers worth £15 per child per week with an extra one off voucher for £20 to help cover costs for food and household bills.

The supermarket vouchers were first given out to struggling families in the county over the Christmas and February holidays with 34,000 vouchers presented to parents and carers at schools, academies, early years settings and post 16 colleges. The County Council has also provided vouchers to care leavers.

Around 11,000 activity packs for primary and secondary school children are also being distributed. These include stationary, skipping ropes, playground chalks, bean bags and a tennis ball along with an activity book with recipes for affordable, healthy family meals.

They're paid for from the Department for Education’s Holiday Activities and Food programme to help families facing increased costs for food and childcare over the school holidays.The council has been working with three charities to put the packs together.

Richard Linsley, Headteacher of Alverton Community Primary School in Northallerton said: "We know the food vouchers have really helped families balance their budgets over the holidays during the difficult times brought about by the pandemic. So we’re delighted to be able to offer the vouchers again.

"The children will be delighted with their activity packs. The ideas for activities will be really useful over this lockdown holiday and they contain plenty of resources to keep children active and engaged."

Cllr Patrick Mulligan, Member for Education and Skills said: "We are enormously grateful to our schools, colleges and nurseries for their help in distributing food vouchers to children in receipt of Free School Meals and other families who may have found themselves newly struggling as a result of the pandemic. We have heard from schools how the vouchers have helped families to balance budgets and make independent choices, especially where their regular income or business has been severely impacted by the pandemic, or they have not been able to work."