British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday criticized the “shameful” school lunch packages sent to needy UK families during the national blockade, and said he was working with the company that provides meals to remedy the situation. . His comments came after Manchester United star Marcus Rashford shared photos of the skinny food packaging earlier this week.
Rashford, who has been battling child hunger in the UK during the pandemic, highlighted the quality of the meals families are receiving on Monday. After a Twitter user posted a photo showing two carrots, a piece of sliced bread, three apples, two bananas and a few other items – supplies they said should be used to feed a family for 10 days – the 23-year-old quote tweeted the photo, saying it was “unacceptable. “
Inside another post, Rashford said the meals “just weren’t good enough”.
“So imagine that we expect children to learn at home. Not to mention parents who sometimes have to teach them that they probably never ate in order for their children to … WE MUST do better. 2021,” he wrote.
The tweets showing the meals received criticism online, which led Chartwells, a free school lunch company, to apologize on Wednesday.
Rashford also told his Twitter followers on Wednesday that he had a conversation with the prime minister, who “assured” Rashford that he will look into “fixing the problem”. Johnson also tweeted that the company agreed to “reimburse those affected”.
“I totally agree with you Marcus Rashford, these food packages do not meet the standards we have set and we have made it clear to the company involved that this is shameful,” he said.
Still, Rashford, who relied on the free school lunch program as a child, asked for an exam of the system as a whole.
“Our eyes are open. Now is the time for a complete overhaul of the Free School Meals system,” he said.
According to the BBC, the packages should contain food that parents can use to prepare healthy lunches for five days, and children of all ages may be eligible if they live in families that receive income-related benefits.