In today's COVID-19 update from Cardiff Council: a reminder of the new free school meals provision starting on Monday; over 1,000 volunteers have registered on our Together For Cardiff website; Meals on Wheels makes a record number of deliveries; and Easter Bank Holiday waste collections. 

Free School Meals

A reminder that Free School Meal provision will be changing to a voucher scheme from this Monday 6th, April andwill be extended to cover what would have been the two week school Easter holiday period. 

The new voucher scheme will replace the grab bag packed lunches which have been delivered to schools since Monday 23^rdMarch. 

Parents and carers of children currently receiving Free School Meals will be sent a downloadable voucher to the value of £40for the benefit of their eligible child/childrenwhich can be spent in one of the following supermarkets:

• Tesco
• Asda
• Sainsbury's
• Morrisons
• Marks & Spencer
• Waitrose

Arrangements for Free School Meals following the Easter break will be communicated in due course. 

The Council has successfully delivered 45,000 grab bags children to collect and takeaway to eat off site however the new scheme will assist measures in reducing social contact, as announced by UK Government. 

Families who are eligible will receive a letter with details of the voucher directly from the Council, in the next few days. 

Click here to view a copy of the letter:

http://app.prmax.co.uk/collateral/163969.pdf

To apply for Free School Meals,emailFreeschoolmeals@cardiff.gov.uk 

1,000 volunteers join Together for Cardiff

The Together for Cardiff volunteer force is now a 1,000-strong group of residents from across the city who have pledged to give their time and services to help people in need during the COVID-19 emergency. 

In only two weeks, the scheme has been flooded with offers of support and assistance as the city gets to grips with the challenges presented by the Coronavirus crisis and seeks to ensure that vulnerable people are able to get the provisions and support they need at this difficult time. 

Hosted on the Volunteer Cardiff website, Together for Cardiff acts as abrokering service, matching people who want to help with volunteering opportunities across the city. Those looking for support can also search for help in their local area on the site. 

Many of these volunteers are supporting the work of council teams, to provide essential services for those in need during this difficult time. 

Since launching on March 20, the scheme's web page has been visited more than 42,100 times and 1,026 individuals have now registered to do what they can to help others during the outbreak.  

As well as the website, the Council's Adviceline has taken 2,181 calls from individuals who need of help to get essential items. 

To join the Together for Cardiff scheme, visit www.volunteercardiff.co.uk  or call 029 2087 1071. 

Meals on Wheels deliver to the highest number of customers to date

Our Meals on Wheels Cardiff service is meeting increasing demand with more than 2,000 meals set to be delivered this week. 

The frontline service continues to provide regular customers, who have difficulty cooking for various reasons, with a healthy and nutritious meal and due to the current Coronavirus crisis, more people are signing up to the service, which delivers right across the city. 

Last week, Meals on Wheels reached a new milestone, achieving the highest number of active customers to date, due to new sign-ups and referrals. 

The team will deliver more than 2,000 meals this week, with weekday deliveries peaking at around 300 per day. Weekends have also seen a spike and this weekend is set to be the busiest yet as more than 500 meals are due to be delivered on Saturday and Sunday. 

Do you know someone who could benefit from receiving a healthy and nutritious meal delivered to their door?

Find out more here:  https://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ENG/resident/Social-Services-and-Wellbeing/Adults/meals-on-wheels/Pages/default.aspx

Easter Bank Holiday Waste and Recycling Collections

Your collection day will remain the same during Easter this year, but collection times may change so please ensure your waste is out by 6am. 

Waste collection services will operate on both Good Friday (10 April) and Easter Monday (13 April). 

Our refuse collectors will work across the Easter bank holidays to ensure the collection service continues.