Another school meals U-turn...
After storm over paltry portions, Boris phones Rashford and now vouchers will be back next week
MinistErs were yesterday forced into another humiliating school meals U-turn following outrage at the measly food parcels sent to families.
the Government has reintroduced supermarket vouchers after images of the hampers were shared by footballer Marcus rashford.
schools are also no longer advised to follow a ‘food parcel first approach’ meaning they now have the freedom to choose how to provide meals.
the policy change came as Boris Johnson labelled some of the meagre offerings as ‘disgraceful’ and an ‘insult to families’.
rashford, the 23-year- old Manchester United and England striker, said the prime Minister called him yesterday to discuss the issue.
‘He has assured me that he is committed to correcting the issue with the food hampers and that a full review of the supply chain is taking place,’ he tweeted.
it comes as katie newton, from Harrogate, yorkshire, shared images of the parcel she received for her son aged 9. rylan Blakey’s food for seven days included two sandwiches, two potatoes, a bag of grated cheese, two small yoghurts, one apple and an orange. the mother-of-three said the parcel probably cost less than £4.
schools are now told they have the ‘ freedom to decide on the best approach’ for providing meals, including via supermarket vouchers.
Education secretary Gavin williamson also warned that companies would be ‘ named and shamed’ if their deliveries fell below standards.
sources said that in many areas the food parcels were working well, however the ‘few bad apples’ exposed on social media had prompted the department to move away from recommending them. the restart of the voucher scheme – in place during the first lockdown where families received £15 supermarket vouchers per child per week – was announced in parliament last week. and confirmation of its recommencement date, Monday, was reportedly prompted by the outcry.
Last night parents also complained about a food package delivered by Future academies chain school pimlico academy in London. the parcel contained flour to make their own bread. ‘this is disgraceful,’ one parent told politicsHome.
Future academies last night claimed its ‘caterers are providing food parcels that meet the Department for Education’s guidelines’. But this was denied by the DfE which said it would investigate the supplier.
after meeting various caterers, Mr williamson last night said: ‘the contents of some of the food parcels were clearly unacceptable and we will not tolerate substandard packages being provided to children.’ Meanwhile, the mother who shared the first image of a measly food parcel, which was estimated to contain just over £5 of food for five days, said its contents were ‘depressing’. sarah is disabled and relies on free school meals. she asked not to be identified but told BBC Breakfast: ‘where has the rest of the food gone? why is it so mean?’
Chartwells, the company that provided her meals, said: ‘in our efforts to provide thousands of food parcels a week, we are very sorry the quantity has fallen short in this instance.’