FOOD FOR FRAUGHT
Homeless to get surplus Army rations
INVESTIGATORS search for clues yesterday after 108 passengers and crew died when a 39-year-old Boeing 737 crashed near Havana.
Three women survived in critical condition when the flight from Cuba’s capital to the eastern city of Holguin dived into woods on takeoff.
State airline Cubana had rented the plane after problems with its own fleet. A PLAN to feed the homeless with unused Army rations is about to get the go-ahead, Whitehall sources say.
Packs of food typically containing 4,000 calories will be made available.
They contain three main meals – usually an all-day breakfast and two pasta dishes – plus powdered drinks, biscuits, fruit puree or cereal bar energy snacks.
It was reported last month that the Ministry of Defence was considering the idea after figures showed 14,273 operational ration packs were going to waste in 2016-17.
But the Sunday Mirror can reveal the plan is being put into action – triggering a mixed response from MPs. Parliamentary questions show the number of wasted ration packs rose dramatically from just 110 in 2013-14 to 5,004 a year later before doubling to 10,798 in 2015-16.
Labour’s Frank Field, who chairs Westminster’s Work and Pensions Committee, first called for the unused rations to be given to the homeless more than a year ago. He said at the time: “The number is going up and they’re only destroying it.” But Lib Dem MP Layla Moran criticised the move, saying the Government should be doing more to combat homelessness. Ms Moran said: “Giving Army rations to people in need is a damning indictment of this government. With homelessness rising on our streets all over Britain, the Government’s response is to hand out Army food to the homeless.
“Helping people in need is vital but rather than building social homes, providing more jobs and offering people routes out of poverty, this government wants to offer some excess Army food. We have moved from foodbanks to ration Britain.”
Figures show at least 4,751 people sleep rough every night, but experts believe the true number is higher.