Cost of living: Parents feeling the pressure brace for summer holidays

A woman who has to eat toast for dinner so her children don't go hungry has said she's just one of many parents feeling the pinch ahead of the summer holidays.

Louise Goodman said families would struggle without free school meal vouchers during the school break.

Earlier this week, the Welsh government announced the scheme would not run over the holidays.

It said other types of support would be available.

Mother-of-three Julia Evans, from Merthyr Tydfil, said: "Feeding my three children is my main priority and my main concern, but losing this funding is going to have a massive effect.

"We'd normally go for days out during the summer holidays but now that will have to be cut massively. It's a really stressful time."

Her children attend the Twyn Community Hub youth club in Merthyr Tydfil and Ms Goodman, its project coordinator, said she understood the pressure felt by parents.

"It's meant to be about having fun but how can it be if you haven't got the money to do that and parents are just stressed," she said.

"Often my husband and I will end up eating just toast for tea. Since the cost-of-living crisis I haven't been able to afford to feed everybody the same."

She said holidays were out of the question and her family would be using free trips from the hub.

A record number of children aged between five and 15 are eligible for free school meals, according to the latest figures.

The extension of free school meal vouchers to cover the school holidays was introduced to support vulnerable families during the Covid pandemic, and was praised by footballer Marcus Rashford.

But for the first time since then, the scheme will not run this summer.

Mum-of-two, Jade Palmer, said: "With the cost of living this year, we can't afford a holiday.

"I've had to top up my electric four times already this week so after I get paid for my job, I'm left with not much money and you've got to do food shopping."

Melanie Simmonds of Save the Children Cymru said families were "already struggling with spiralling costs".

She added that some parents were worried they would not be able to send their children outside in good weather because they cannot afford sun cream.

Caerphilly council is the only local authority which is funding its own food voucher scheme this summer.

The decision will cost the council nearly £1m and it is expected to benefit about 7,500 school children.

Council leader Sean Morgan said: "We have reserves that we can fall back on for a rainy day. This certainly is a rainy day for our residents."

Clare Rogers, business performance manager for Caerphilly council, said she has seen people "in floods of tears not being able to cope" without the government extension.

A small number of other local authorities across Wales said they were considering the possibility of introducing their own voucher scheme.

The Welsh Local Government Authority's "food and fun" programme will be available to children across all of Wales' 22 local authority areas during the summer holidays.

Charities Save the Children and Barnardo's Cymru said parents had told them they were having to make decisions about whether to feed themselves or their children over the holidays.

The Welsh government said the school meals extension was "a time-limited crisis intervention in response to the pandemic".

A spokesperson said: "This summer, a wide range of holiday projects will be available across Wales, including the Food and Fun scheme, which we fund and will be available in all 22 local authority areas for the first time."