Now Rashford calls for urgent review into free school meals
MARCUS Rashford, Jamie Oliver and Emma Thompson last night led calls for an ‘urgent review’ into free school meals.
The Manchester United striker was among signatories to an open letter to the PM urging him to ensure every child has access to ‘enough healthy, good quality food to fulfil their potential’.
The letter was also signed by celebrity chefs Tom Kerridge and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, as well as dozens of charity and education leaders. They urged Mr Johnson to look at the eligibility criteria for free school meals, mandatory monitoring of the quality of such meals, and work to eliminate any stigma associated with being a recipient.
The move follows the row caused by widely-shared social images of meagre food packages delivered to families which prompted ministers into a U-turn on plans not to hand out supermarket vouchers to parents instead. Last night unions predicted more ‘anguish and hunger’ during half-term when the scheme is paused.
However the Department for Education said that schools will not need to provide meals to those in need over the break, as they will be catered for by the £170million Covid Winter Grant Scheme. A company condemned for its paltry food parcels issued an apology last night. Robin Mills, boss of Compass Group, which owns food supplier Chartwells, said: ‘The first thing I want to do is to say sorry. The quality and quantity of the produce in the images on Twitter fell short of our usual standards... We feel that it’s right we go further.’