Written question WQ96640

Our Healthy Weight: Healthy Wales strategy supports a range of initiatives. This includes funding for the Healthy Start Scheme in Wales, which provides our most vulnerable young families with help to buy healthy foods and free vitamins. Healthy Start pre-loaded smart cards can be used to purchase fruit, vegetables, pulses, milk and infant formula. Eligible pregnant women and children from their first until their fourth birthday receive £4.25 a week, and babies up to one year of age receive £8.50 a week.

All primary school children are offered a free school meal and in addition, we currently offer free and subsidised school milk, free breakfasts for primary pupils, and free school meals for secondary pupils who need them most. These important steps help tackle child poverty and hunger, support learners to achieve, and contribute towards improved health, making a real difference in schools and communities across Wales. We are reviewing the regulations that set out what types of food and drink can be provided in schools to better reflect the latest UK dietary recommendations.

The Playworks Holiday Project aims to support access to increased play opportunities for children and young people during the school holidays and provide healthy food and snacks.

The school-based Food and Fun School Holiday Enrichment Programme provides food and nutrition education, physical activity and enrichment sessions, and provide healthy breakfast, lunch and, often, snacks in areas of socio-economic disadvantage for a minimum of 12 days during the school summer holidays.

The Welsh Government has committed funding of more than £2m in 2025-26, to further develop the network of Local Food Partnerships across Wales. This will support the development and long-term viability of local and affordable food initiatives by building strong relationships between them and the communities they serve.