Essex County Council has announced an updated support package to help people most in need in the county.
The council has now allocated the £16,631,626 received from the Department for Work and Pensions’ Household Support Fund. It aims to ease financial pressure for families, pensioners, and vulnerable residents across the county by supporting with food, household bills and essential items.
The funding, which runs until March 2026, has come from the Department for Work and Pensions’ Household Support Fund. It includes over £6 million to help feed thousands of children eligible for free school meals and £1 million for pensioners.
Allocations include:
- £5,605,200 for supermarket food vouchers to support families with children eligible for free school meals
- £63,000 to provide food for children and young people attending the holiday activities and food programme.
- £8,900,926 to the Essential Living Fund for those in need of support with household bills, food and essential items.
- £67,500 in supermarket vouchers for care leavers.
- £500,000 for foodbanks, food support groups, and food pantries to stock groceries for residents in need.
- £200,000 for organisations supporting groups such as unpaid carers with the cost of energy, food, essentials items.
- £100,000 for Essex Citizens Advice to provide direct financial support and advisory services to struggling households.
- £50,000 to Essex Citizens Advice to fund training for frontline workers to support people affected by benefit cuts.
- £10,000 for Essex Libraries “Winter Warm Welcome” over October 2025- March 2026.
- £75,000 for supermarket vouchers for food and essential items to support Young Carer households in need.
- £140,000 for the 14 Community Supermarkets in Essex that provide affordable food to local residents.
More information on help with the cost of living is available at https://www.essex.gov.uk/help-cost-living.
