Families whose children are eligible for income related free school meals will be provided with supermarket vouchers worth £20 to cover the upcoming February half term by Bath & North East Somerset Council.

From today (February 17), eligible families who received vouchers from the council's free school meals scheme during the Christmas holidays will automatically receive an email.

Once they confirm they would like a £20 voucher per child, households will receive a further email which will have 'Select' codes with a web link to the council's supplier, Hawk Incentives, which will take them to a page where they will be presented with a selection of supermarkets to choose from and a reward total which can be split between different supermarkets. Codes can be added for each qualifying child to increase the reward total.

Once parents have selected their supermarket, they can checkout their vouchers via the shopping basket. After entering their name and email address, vouchers will be emailed to them within 72 hours.

Households who received voucher links during the Christmas break will not need to make a new application, however anyone who did miss out will need to reapply using this web form.

Councillor Dine Romero, cabinet member for Children and Young People, Communities and Culture, said: "I'm delighted that we are continuing to support families during the upcoming school holidays. In light of rising food prices and energy bills, I hope this will ease some of the strain on family budgets."

New applications from families who haven't claimed the vouchers before can be made online via this page from the afternoon of February 17. Families who received the vouchers in December should not reapply as it could cause a delay in them receiving their vouchers.

The Select codes for free school meal vouchers will be valid for three months once issued, but once a supermarket is selected the normal terms and conditions of that store apply, which range from 12 months to two years.

The electronic vouchers can be spent in a range of supermarkets and are available to the families of pupils entitled to benefit-related free school meals, as well as parents who receive free childcare for two-year-olds.

The scheme is funded from the Government's Household Support Fund. There are currently more than 4,000 children in Bath and North East Somerset who receive benefit-related free school meals.

In December, the council issued 3,892 vouchers to families in B&NES.

The scheme is part of a wide range of community support for vulnerable families including FOOD clubs, food banks, welfare and financial support.

Don't forget that if people are on a low income and receive certain benefits, then they can also apply for a £250 grant to pay energy bills from our Household Support Fund.

Applications for the Household Support Fund should be made via the council's website HERE: the B&NES site

Residents who have questions about the process for accessing Free School Meal vouchers or the Household Support Fund can contact the Benefits team on 01225 477777 (option 4).