Apply for free school meal supermarket vouchers

Families in Bath and North East Somerset who receive benefit-related free school meals, and received a Free School Meal Voucher during the May half term will be issued with an electronic voucher worth £90 per child for the summer holiday. It can be used at one of the supermarkets listed below to purchase food and essential items.

The vouchers are being distributed electronically where possible. In exceptional circumstances we can help families who may find this difficult.

We are also providing vouchers to families attending early years settings that would have qualified for benefit related free school meals if their child was of school age.

How the scheme works

• This voucher system will be the same as our previous process during the May half term.
• You will receive ‘Select’ codes with a web link to our supplier, Hawk Incentives, which will take you to a page where you will be presented with a selection of supermarkets to choose from and a reward total which can be split between different supermarkets. Select codes can be added for each qualifying child to increase the reward total. These will be issued as £90 per child for the summer holiday.
• Once you have selected your supermarket, you can check out your vouchers via the shopping basket. After entering your name and email address, vouchers will be emailed to you within 24 to 72 hours.
• The Select codes will only be valid for 2 months, so you must make your choice promptly. However, once you have selected your supermarkets and received your vouchers, the normal time limits for each store will apply.
• If you have previously applied (and received a voucher) for the May half term, we will email you to ask you to confirm whether you would like a voucher for the summer holiday. Once you confirm this, we will email you a Select code, or multiple codes if you have more than one eligible child.
• If you did not receive a Free School Meal Voucher during the May half term, or have received an email regarding a change of circumstances to one or more of your children, you will need to reapply using the button below.

Please do not make a new application if you previously received vouchers from us during the May half term, and haven’t received an email saying you will not be receiving the vouchers for the summer holiday. This will delay your application.

How to spend them

You can spend the vouchers on food and other essential items at the supermarkets below.

Participating supermarket	Where you can spend it
Morrison's	In store only
Sainsbury's	In store only
Tesco	In store only
Aldi	In store only
Asda	In store and online
John Lewis/Waitrose	In store and online
Marks & Spencer	In store and online
Farmfoods	In store only
Iceland	In store only

Once you have selected your supermarket, you can check out your vouchers via the shopping basket.

Time limits

The Select codes will only be valid for two months, so you should act quickly. However, once you have selected your supermarkets and received your vouchers, the normal time limits for each store will apply.

Check if you need to apply

If you have previously applied and received a voucher for the May half term, we will automatically email you to ask you to confirm if you would like a voucher for the summer holiday. Once you confirm this, we will email you a Select code, or multiple codes, if you have more than one eligible child.

You'll need to apply for vouchers now if either of the following applies:

• You didn't receive a free school meal voucher during the May half term.
• We've contacted you about a change in circumstances for one or more of your children.

Before you apply

You can apply for the vouchers online. You'll need to tell us:

• Your name
• Address
• Contact details
• National Insurance number
• Details of your children and the school they attend

What happens next?

We will review your application within seven calendar days. If you are eligible, we will send you an email with a link to a website where you can claim a voucher for one of the participating supermarkets.

When you receive the voucher you'll need to save it to your smartphone or device, as we can't issue replacements. You may want to print the voucher off before you take it to the supermarket. You must redeem the voucher in full in one transaction, and you can't get change in cash.

If you prefer not to use all of the money at once, it's a good idea to split the amount available to you between different supermarkets.

Free school meals holiday support is changing from September 2026. Find out more.