ScS donates 10,000 school meals to Sunderland children in need following government refusal

As a result of the government voting against extending free school meals for disadvantaged children, ScS has donated £20,000 to help fund meals for local children in need.

The national sofa and carpet specialist, which was founded in Sunderland, will pay for 10,000 meals for the city’s most underprivileged families.

With October half term approaching and many families struggling due to the pandemic, MPs have this week controversially voted against providing food for children during the school holidays, a campaign that has been brought to prominence by England footballer, Marcus Rashford. Children typically receive free school meals if their family receives some form of income support, such as Universal Credit or Jobseeker’s Allowance, but this only applies during term time.

ScS’ donation to the organisation, Together for Children, will help to bridge this gap in Sunderland, focusing on families who need it the most. Families will receive a £10 Asda voucher, which can be spent on a week’s worth of school meal equivalents.

Jill Colbert, Chief Executive at Together for Children, said: “We are incredibly grateful to SCS for their generous donation of £20,000, which will provide meals to vulnerable children in our city.

“Currently, more than 8,500 children receive free school meals across primary and secondary schools in Sunderland. The provision of free school meals is a vital resource to families in our city, who rely on their children receiving a free school meal during term time; however, their circumstances don’t change when the school term ends, and they still need support during the school holidays.

“The donation will provide more than 10,000 meals to families in need over the next week. SCS Sunderland is making a huge contribution to ensure the health and wellbeing of children, young people and families and their donation will truly make a difference.

“I’d also like to extend a thank you to The Link School and Headteacher, Donna Walker, who will work Together for Children and schools across the city to identify the most vulnerable families and ensure they receive this support.”

David Knight, CEO of ScS, said: “It’s been an incredibly difficult year for everyone, but some families have been hit harder than others.

“Here at ScS, we are dedicated to helping families in need and ahead of October half term, we hope our donation will go some way to helping to feed our city’s most vulnerable children. Together for Children does an incredible job and its services are more crucial now than ever before.”

For more information about ScS, visit: https://www.scs.co.uk/ and to find out more about Together for Children, please visit: https://www.togetherforchildren.org.uk/

For more information about Together for Children, visit: https://www.togetherforchildren.org.uk/