Stirling MSP Bruce Crawford along with Stirling East Councillor Alison Laurie have welcomed the announcement from the Scottish Government to extend free school meals into summer.
Stirling Council have received an extra £27.6 million which will help provide school meals along with other provisions for children from lower income families.
Across Scotland, the number of children receiving free school meals has risen by 53,000 since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
MSP Bruce Crawford said: “For many families, this will be welcome news. This crisis has already put people into deeper hardship, and that is evident purely by the increased number of children across the country who are in need of the free school meal entitlement.
“Ensuring that families are supported in this way is vital, and I am pleased that the Scottish Government has committed this funding to help children and young people in the area.”
Councillor Alison Laurie, the SNP’s finance spokesperson on Stirling Council, said:
“Securing regular meals for school children is an important part of their development and some families are really struggling right now under the added pressures that this crisis has brought. Stirling Council have helped to provide school lunches to children from low-income households during the summer over the past couple of years.
“Once we have further details on this funding the Council will be able to provide further information about how this service will be provided.”
Image credit: Stirling SNP
