Anger at school meals parcel
SHE SAYS THERE IS NOT ENOUGH ‘BRAIN FOOD’ FOR HER DAUGHTERS
COUNCIL bosses in Staffordshire and Derbyshire have spoken after criticism elsewhere that free food ‘hampers’ given to school children during lockdown are not nutritious.
Mum Kelly Taylor said a free hamper provided to replace free school meals contained items her three daughters did not want and was far from nutritious – there was no “brain food” for her daughters.
Food parcels are being offered to families in some areas instead of £30 vouchers and are supposed to provide healthy and nutritious food for disadvantaged children during lockdown with schools closed.
The 28-year-old mother said: “I work in a restaurant so when I got the food I was thinking ‘what am I supposed to do with this?’ There’s no fish, meat: there’s no brain food.”
Her hamper, for five days per child per week, contained: one jacket potato, 50g of dried pasta, 125g of cheese, 200ml of passata, one pepper, one carrot, one tomato, a quarter of a cucumber, 60 grams of bread mix, two slices of wholemeal bread, 200g of baked beans, three pieces of fruit, three biscuits and one small packet of raisins.
“There’s 125g of cheese and I’ve got to do a jacket potato, an omelette, a pasta dish and a pizza?” added Kelly. “Something needs to be done because people are losing out, children are going hungry and it’s not fair.”
The mum is furloughed and has three daughters, aged five, six and 10, to feed and teach during lockdown. She said: “I rang the school and asked if there was a way of changing the tomato bits and the carrots to cucumber because there was quite a lot of wasted food my children wouldn’t eat – but they said the parcels get dropped at the school by the catering company and there’s no way of changing them.”
Her council in Cheshire said the Government had updated its national guidance on providing school meals during the pandemic to reflect the lockdown. A spokesman said: “Schools should speak to their catering team or provider about the best arrangements for providing meals for those pupils in school – all meals provided in school must still comply with the food standards.”
The Department of Health said it was investigating after images on social media showed only a small number of food items sent to families in some council areas.
Derbyshire and Staffordshire county councils were asked about their stance on providing free food hampers for disadvantaged children during lockdown.
A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council said: ”Following a change in Government guidance on January 13, schools have the freedom to decide on the best approach for their pupils and have a range of options which include lunch parcels, local vouchers or the Department for Education’s national voucher scheme, which will reopen on January 18. Parents can speak directly to the school about their needs.
“For schools who choose lunch parcels, we provide a healthy nutritional lunchtime meal; 12,935 lunch parcel orders have been received since the start of this lockdown.
“During the current pandemic controlling the spread of the virus is key, so our lunch parcels are designed to minimise contact with the school to help reduce the transmission of the virus as they only need to be collected once a week or once a fortnight.
“Our parcels are costed in line with free school meals and comply with all the school food standards and nutritional standards set by the Department for Education.
“Schools can access meal suggestions and recipe cards which show how the food can be used to create the right number of meals. These cards can be added to schools websites, following feedback we will be putting printed versions in the boxes as well. Following a recent Government announcement, schools can claim for additional funding of £3.50 per week for each eligible pupil receiving lunch parcel provision at home. “To reflect this increase in funding we have revised the content of our food parcels to make sure eligible children and their families receive the food they need in these difficult times.” Jonathan Price, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for education, said: “Our schools are doing a great job supporting pupils whether they are still in the classroom or at home. “In Staffordshire, schools make their own arrangements for the provision of meals and deal directly with contractors.
“I am aware that Chartwells have contracts in the county. We are asking for reassurance that the company continues to meet the high standards expected of it.” Meanwhile, our sister paper the Mirror is reporting that schools have been told not to provide free schools meals or vouchers during the February half-term – despite previous u-turns after protests. The Government insists there is not need for the parcels or vouchers during the week-long break.
When I got the food I was thinking ‘what am I supposed to do with this?
Kelly Taylor