A TOTAL of £2m in 'emergency funding' for school food has been agreed by the county council's cabinet. 

The money will be used for free school meal vouchers, breakfast clubs, food technology costs and more.

With the Cost of Living crisis, the number of children on free school meals has increased to 14,800 from around 13,000 before COVID), said a report produced by Cumbria County Council. 

And it warned the number is 'easily matched by children whose families do not qualify for Free School Meals but are struggling to pay for household essentials.'

Deborah Earl, county council cabinet member for communities and public health, stressed that many families were 'facing real hardship' and that schools were at the 'frontline of responding to this'.

“This money can be used flexibly by schools depending on their circumstances," she said.

"For example, it could allow them to run breakfast clubs or to subsidise the cost of school meals to ensure portion sizes aren’t reduced because of the increasing cost of ingredients and energy.

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"The key thing is that they can do what works for their pupils."

This funding was brought about by a motion proposed by Cllr Karen Lockney in September.

Cllr Lockney asked for a scrutiny task and finish group to be convened to look at how the council could stop children going hungry amid the cost-of-living crisis. 

The task and finish group heard from witnesses such as headteachers, and made a number of recommendations. 

Cllr Earl said: "That we are having to do this is genuinely quite shocking.

"We shouldn’t be in the position of having to offer schools emergency funding just to ensure pupils don’t go hungry. 

"The Government must respond to the huge impact that rising costs are having on families and public services like schools.”

The money agreed includes £0.5m to enable the unitary authorities that will begin operating in Cumbria from April to provide free school meal vouchers to children over the Easter holidays. 

A county council spokesman said: "The funding package takes the council’s spend supporting people through the cost-of-living crisis to more than £5m in the last 12 months."