“I’d be lost without the Rose Vouchers. I have four children, and with my friend Rachel, we put our Rose Vouchers together and buy what we need for our children.
We batch-cook our meals together. I’ll do a Sunday dinner at the weekend; then, if we have leftovers, we freeze it. Rachel’s youngest is 10 months old and often has soft food from our main meals, like mashed potato and veg.
When the kids come in from school, they’re straight into the fruit bowl. They go mad for strawberries.
It’s helped a lot since having Rose Vouchers. With the cost-of-living crisis, you don’t know where your next meal is going to come from. £3 in Rose Vouchers can buy you potatoes, so you have a meal and can add a salad if the kids want it.
Last week we went and got our Rose Vouchers, and the market trader said they’ve got podded peas, so we got some, and the kids love them. It reminded me of when I’d get podded peas and take them in my lunchbox when I was at school. Barnsley Market has so much variety. They have raspberries and blueberries; you can easily spend all your Rose Vouchers on one stall so you can get what you need for a Sunday dinner all the way up to fruit for snacks.
Having Rose Vouchers and sharing meals with Rachel and her family is how we all get by.”