Images of the inadequate lunch parcels – some of which included half a pepper wrapped in cling film, half a tomato and a carrot stub – circulated on social media yesterday.
Food parcels or vouchers are meant to be available to families eligible for free school meals while schools are closed to most pupils during the third lockdown.
One picture, which hit national headlines, claimed to show a £30 hamper containing only about £5 worth of food.
Children and Families minister, Vicky Ford said the photos were ‘completely unacceptable’ and do not reflect the high standard of free school meals they expect children to be sent.
However, research from Labour suggests that the packages are not as far removed from Government guidance for food parcels as ministers are suggesting (see below).
Ms Ford met with the managing director of Chartwells, one of the food caterers at the centre of the allegations.
She said, ‘He has rightly apologised and admitted the parcel in question was not good enough. He has assured me they have taken immediate action to stop further deliveries of poor-quality parcels. They will ensure schools affected are compensated and they will provide additional food to the eligible child in line with our increased funding.’
She added, ‘In the meantime, Government will be demanding that all caterers meet the standards set and are delivering high quality lunches they are providing to eligible children – by doing this we will make sure every one of them receives a healthy and nutritious lunch that will give them the fuel they need to focus on learning at home.’
Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, when asked about the food parcel row about the start of the education committee today, said he was ‘absolutely disgusted’ when he saw the picture of the £5 worth of food above.
‘As a dad myself, I thought how could a family in receipt of that really be expected to deliver five nutritious meals as required. It’s just not acceptable.
‘It has been made absolutely clear to Chartwells, and to the whole sector, that that sort of behaviour is just not right. It will not be tolerated. We will not live with that. There are clear standards that they need to deliver against, and if they do not deliver against them actions will have to be taken.’
A statement from Chartwells, referring to the picture, read, ‘This provides five days of school lunches (not 10 days) and the charge for food, packing and distribution was actually £10.50 and not £30 as suggested.
‘However, in our efforts to provide thousands of food parcels a week at extremely short notice we are very sorry the quantity has fallen short in this instance.’
The firm also said it was ‘further enhancing’ its food parcels following a decision by the Department for Education to allocate an additional £3.50 per week per child.
National food vouchers
Labour is calling for Ministers to urgently restart the national food vouchers scheme, which operated during the first national lockdown and helped ensure families were getting the full value of Free School Meals support.
Ms Ford tweeted on Monday (11 January), ‘We’ve increased funding for parcels & will support local vouchers - national voucher also rolling out ASAP, working night & day on this.’
A statement from the DfE said that more details will be released today. But it said that from Monday 18 January Schools will be able to order from the national voucher scheme.
‘We are also ensuring schools can arrange local vouchers schemes for parents and reimbursing schools where they choose this approach up to a value of £15 per pupil per week. Reimbursed costs will be backdated to 4 January where schools were asked to close to all but vulnerable children and those of key workers,’ the statement read.
It added, ‘Headteachers and schools know their communities best so we want them to have the freedom to take an approach that works best for their families.’
Meanwhile, Labour has highlighted that guidance published by the DfE in September suggests 'general principles for putting together' parcels, and that the similarities between them and the images circulating were striking.
A link from the DfE guidance to LACA: the School Food People is very similar.
The key items missing are two ‘tins of meat’, a litre of milk and a tin of sweetcorn. A leading UK supermarket prices this at about 47p of food a day.
This does not include items that are not in the guidance but in the picture, such as Soreen and pasta.
Tulip Siddiq MP, Labour’s shadow children and early years minister, said, 'The images that have been circulating on social media are shameful. But these revelations about the Government’s own guidance means that ministers’ newfound concern rings hollow. A couple of tins and a bottle of milk isn’t the difference between acceptable or unacceptable.
'The Government's response has yet again been far too slow, with national food vouchers only becoming available from next week - two weeks after schools moved to remote learning.
'Children are going hungry now - this cannot wait.'
Footballer and campaigner for children on free school meals, Marcus Rashford, also shared photos of what appear to be food parcels online, saying they are ‘not good enough’.
Rehana Azam, national secretary of GMB Union, which has long campaigned for free school meals for all pupils, said, ‘It's absolutely shocking. This is what happens when profit becomes a motive in public services - we've had enough of fat cats using the pandemic to line their own pockets, test and trace wasted billions and now this.’
Nutritional content
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), in a letter to Gavin Williamson, said that what they have seen online in the last 24 hours has been an ‘insult’ to the dignity of the children, young people and their families who rely on this vital support.
Dr Max Davie, officer for health improvement at RCPCH said, ‘As a paediatrician I can say the contents are not nutritionally sufficient for children and young people. Children who rely on free school meals have worse health outcomes than their peers and deserve proper help. The examples shared are an insult to the dignity of people who rely on this support.
‘We call on Government to urgently review its supplier list, and to provide the resource needed for local authorities to provide flexibility for families in how they want to receive this vital support. Some local authorities offer vouchers or cash payments. Not every family is the same, but every family deserves to be treated with respect.’
