teifidancer: £30 food parcel Boris Johnson Tories profiting/stealing food from hungry children in a pandemic

Tuesday 12 January 2021

£30 food parcel Boris Johnson Tories profiting/stealing food from hungry children in a pandemic

An image of a food parcel shared by one parent (RoadsideMum/PA)

A furious mum has slammed the free school meals scheme after she says she was sent just a few pounds worth of food to feed her children for 10 days.

Parents of children who would normally qualify for free school meals have been given the option of food parcels or vouchers as schools close for remote learning.

Going by the Twitter handle https://twitter.com/RoadsideMum the unnamed woman shared a photo of a delivery which she estimated cost £5.22, rather than the £30 vouchers she is entitled to.

It shows items including bread, cheese, two carrots and a tin of baked beans, with the mum writing:

: “2 days jacket potato with beans, 8 single cheese sandwiches, 2 days carrots, 3 days apples, 2 days soreen, 3 days frubes.

“Spare pasta & tomato. Will need mayo for pasta salad.

“Issued instead of £30 vouchers. I could do more with £30 to be honest.”

She added : Public funds were charged £30, I'd have bought this for £5.22. The private company who have the free school's meals contract made a good contract here,

By midnight on Tuesday (January 11), the image had been shared more than 15,000 times on Twitter and the issue has been roundly condemned, after all these are starvation rations. Ir's a disgrace.

The Manchester United Striker and food poverty campaigner Mark Rashford 23 said :

‘children deserve better’ as he shared images of cheap food bundles meant to keep families fed for days. Those eligible for free school meals are entitled to £30 food vouchers while classrooms are closed, but some parents have been sent food hampers that cost a fraction of that price.

One of the images Rashford shared was intended to feed a family for three days and included just four apples, a tin of beans, a few cartons of juice and some snacks. Rashford tweeted:

‘3 days of food for 1 family… Just not good enough.’

In another tweet he added:

‘Then imagine we expect the children to engage in learning from home. ‘Not to mention the parents who, at times, have to teach them who probably haven’t eaten at all so their children can… We MUST do better. This is 2021.’

Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/12/free-school-meals-marcus-rashford-slams-not-good-enough-parcels-13887567/?ito=cbshare

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/

The Manchester United Striker and food poverty campaigner said ‘children deserve better’ as he shared images of cheap food bundles meant to keep families fed for days. Those eligible for free school meals are entitled to £30 food vouchers while classrooms are closed, but some parents have been sent food hampers that cost a fraction of that price. One of the images Rashford shared was intended to feed a family for three days and included just four apples, a tin of beans, a few cartons of juice and some snacks. Rashford tweeted: ‘3 days of food for 1 family… Just not good enough.’ In another tweet he added: ‘Then imagine we expect the children to engage in learning from home. ‘Not to mention the parents who, at times, have to teach them who probably haven’t eaten at all so their children can… We MUST do better. This is 2021.’

Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/12/free-school-meals-marcus-rashford-slams-not-good-enough-parcels-13887567/?ito=cbshare

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/

Rashford tweeted: ‘3 days of food for 1 family… Just not good enough.’ In another tweet he added: ‘Then imagine we expect the children to engage in learning from home. ‘Not to mention the parents who, at times, have to teach them who probably haven’t eaten at all so their children can… We MUST do better. This is 2021.’

Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/12/free-school-meals-marcus-rashford-slams-not-good-enough-parcels-13887567/?ito=cbshare

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/

Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/12/free-school-meals-marcus-rashford-slams-not-good-enough-parcels-13887567/?ito=cbshare

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MetroUK | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetroUK/

Today the government said it was 'urgently' looking into claims free school meals parcels only contain a few pounds worth of food.

Schools are given a grant from the Government, which they can spend on getting vouchers for pupils or getting a contractor to supply parcels.

Until this week suppliers were working on costs of £2.34 a day per student, but on Friday the government increased this by £3.50 a week.

The company behind the lunch in question is Chartwells, which has Tory links and is the education catering specialist of £24.8billion-earning Compass Group UK & Ireland. They have said they would investigate.

But many others took to Twitter to upload their own images of food packages received, some of which were far worse, not all from same company but helping to expose the Tory's complete failure when it omes to issuing food contracts, handed out without a care to their friends to the detriment of those who rely on these services the most.

In 2021 it is truly outrageous and unacceptable that families are being sent such inadequate food parcels, in the latest episode of public contracts being handed over to Tory donor companies profiteering from the pandemic. There is no way that the contents of the boxes being investigated was valued at anything like the £30 taken from the public purse, so questions must be answered by Chartwells and the Government about where the rest of the money has gone.

The Government must urgently step up and ensure that meaningful and adequate free school meals are provided, or provide families with the cash to manage this themselves. No one should be profiteering from our hungry disadvantaged children. This needs to be sorted out immediately, it's not as if it's an isolated incident, the cruelty and mismanagement of our Government is off the scale.

Can't we just give families the £30 and treat people with the bloody respect they deserve. Cut out for good, the private businesses who are currently profiteering from families in need,

The Tory government has meanwhile condemned the contents mentioned as "completely unacceptable" With a Downing Street spokesperson saying the Department for Education will tell the company responsible that " boxes like this should not be given to families."

I would argue that it is our rotten government that is not acceptable. Chartwell's should be stripped of their contract .Enough is enough.

£30 food parcel Boris Johnson' Tories profiteering'stealing from hungry children in pandemic (Artist Taxi Driver)

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Here is link to company involved, if you wish to contact them further :-

https://www.chartwellsindependent.co.uk/contact-us?fbclid=IwAR0Wn1mYKcSz8vj0Yt-soHPh2KUjwEEn97WKbMm3ToP_gW31dsCw6s6VRCU

And please sign the following petition :-

Make access to food a legal right - no ne in the UK should go hungry

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/562838

She added: ‘Public funds were charged £30. I’d have bought this for £5.22. The private company who have the free school meals contract made a good profit here.’ Footballer Marcus Rashford, who successfully lobbied the government into continuing free school meals for children through the summer and Christmas holidays, described the parcel as ‘unacceptable’.

Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2021/01/12/free-school-meals-firm-with-tory-links-shamed-over-30-shopping-basket-13887331/?ito=cbshare