Families receive fruits and vegetables to feed hungry children during the week

Families receive fruits and vegetables to feed hungry children during the week

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Parents of children in some of the poorest areas of England shared photos of sparse food baskets with the aim of preventing them from going hungry while being forced to stay home due to the COVID blockade.

The packages, described by opposition politicians as “woefully inadequate”, are being delivered to parents of children eligible for the UK government’s Free School Meals program. Typically, these children would receive a hot meal during the school day, but due to COVID rules that prohibit children from attending school, unless in exceptional circumstances, school leaders are being asked to provide packages to families.

These food packages, prepared by schools or private food companies that they usually use, replaced the vouchers given to parents to spend in supermarkets, as schools closed during the summer holidays. The government says it provides £ 15 per child per week, but a package posted on Twitter was valued at just £ 5.22. It contained two potatoes, a can of beans, eight slices of plain cheese, a loaf of bread, two carrots, three apples, two bars of malt bread, three packages of yogurt, a little pasta and a tomato and was supposed to last for 10 days.

The mother wrote next to the image: “Instead of £ 30 vouchers, I could do more with £ 30 to be honest.” She added: “The private company that has the free school meal contract has made a good profit here.”

Premier League footballer Marcus Rashford, who forced the UK government to turn around in June because of providing meals for children during the summer, said the package was “unacceptable”. He shared several photos of other food packages that his parents sent him, including one that contained three small boxes of fruit, four apples, a can of beans, raisins and snacks. The mother who received the package said she should provide three-day food for her eight-year-old son. British food writer Jack Monroe, who became a bestselling author after documenting his own cooking experience for his son while surviving on government benefits, also tweeted extensively about the packages.

They posted messages from parents as well as employees who allegedly work for the catering companies that provide the packages, who described the portion sizes as “disgusting”. “Have we had enough examples that they can’t say that this is an isolated incident or do I need to continue ?!” Said Monroe.

Some of the packages shared online were provided by the private catering company Chartwells, which is part of the Compass Group, food services company FTSE 100. The group’s president, Paul Walsh, is a donor of the Conservative Party and was a member of the group of business consultancy for former British Prime Minister David Cameron.

A Chartwells spokesman said the image posted on Twitter “falls short of our obstacle specifications and we look forward to investigating with the relevant school”. They said: “We take our responsibility to provide children with access to nutritious food very seriously. We work hard to produce food baskets in an incredibly short time during these difficult times. Our baskets follow the Department of Education (DfE) specifications and contain a variety of ingredients to support families in providing meals during the week. In most cases, we receive positive feedback. “

A DfE spokesman said Newsweek that schools received funding equivalent to £ 15 per week for each individual child eligible for Free School Meals to provide food during the block. In the first case, the government recommends that schools provide food baskets assembled by their existing suppliers, or that they provide local vouchers to parents if they cannot provide food baskets.

The National Voucher Scheme, which initially operated during the summer holiday following the Rashford campaign, is expected to be launched again “within a week,” the spokesman said, and will be in effect as long as schools are closed due to blocking measures. .

It will be up to schools to decide which method of providing food works best for the parents of eligible students, the spokesman said. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he will review the blocking rules in mid-February, when schools in England are on their half-time break.

In accordance with government guidance for the provision of Free School Meals during COVID, schools can apply for an additional £ 3.50 per student to provide children who learn at home. The guidelines state that food packages should contain food items “that parents can use to prepare healthy lunches for their children or children during the week”, rather than pre-prepared meals. He adds that the baskets must not depend on the parents having additional ingredients at home and must attend students of all diets.

Labor opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer called the package images posted online “a disgrace”. “Where is the money going? This needs to be sorted immediately so that families do not go hungry during confinement,” he wrote in a tweet.

Katie Barry, the principal of St George primary school in Lincolnshire, East Midlands, is now providing food packages to all of her students – regardless of whether or not they are eligible for free school meals.

This week, his team distributed more than 200 installments paid for by the school budget, which, taking into account the team’s overhead, results in a budget of less than £ 1 per student to spend. Everything was organized in a few days, with schools being informed last week that they should close under new restrictions.

“The government voucher scheme may have allowed £ 15 per child per week, but that’s not what we have to spend,” says Barry Newsweek. “We are fortunate to have a school kitchen, so we have autonomy over what we can offer, but other schools and parents are at the mercy of what the private food companies give them.”

Boy carries food packages in England
Catering companies providing basic food baskets for children eligible to receive free school meals at schools in England were embarrassed on Twitter
Christopher Furlong / Getty

The school also runs a food bank, where parents can pick up essentials every Friday. More than 150 people now line up outside the school every week, says Barry. “We know that there are hungry children, whose parents are at home with empty cupboards and empty refrigerators. Hungry children cannot learn,” said Barry.

“But we also know that we have hungry parents. We decided at the beginning of the pandemic that providing food would be part of our main provisions as a school. Our goal is to teach first of all, but now ensuring that people have enough to eat is one of our principles. fundamentals too. “

She hopes that schools will receive more notification from the government so that they can provide children if blocking rules are extended further. “We can turn the tide, let’s do this, but we need to be warned so that we can plan ahead, otherwise, some children will be without.”

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