Free breakfast and after-school clubs should be provided for all pupils In East Lothian to help struggling families cope with the cost of living crisis, two SNP councillors have argued.
Councillors Lee-Anne Menzies and Cher Cassini will call for the cost of providing the clubs to help the county's "working poor" with the addition of a free meal provided at the clubs to be investigated.
In a motion to a meeting of the full council next week the councillors point to the number of families who have used East Lothian Food Bank this year as evidence of the growing crisis in the county.
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They say: "While plenty of evidence exists in relation to rates of absolute poverty in East Lothian, there is an ever -growing issue of “hidden poverty”.
"The number of working poor in East Lothian is expected to grow exponentially during this crisis, with East Lothian Foodbank already reporting having helped 7496 people with a food parcel in 2021. Amongst those were 2837 children."
The motion calls on the council to look into the cost of providing clubs at all council run schools to allow parents the opportunity to work additional hours and ensure children are in a safe environment.
It also calls for universal free school meals to be offered including breakfast or a meal at the after-school clubs with places available to every child and young person who wants them with an option for those who can pay to make a voluntary donation.
The local authority currently provides 30,000 free school meals every week to all P1-P5 pupils and eligible pupils in other years.
There are 17 breakfast clubs running across the county for 28 primary schools which are operated by childcare providers rather than the schools themselves.
Some secondary schools, such as Dunbar Grammar, run a breakfast club.
The Dunbar clubs was established last year by Home Economics staff and volunteers and is supported by the town's Asda Community Champion.
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