Mom by the side of the road said the package contained ingredients for making two french fries with beans and eight cheese sandwiches, plus some snacks, pasta and a single tomato.
The package was supposed to last 10 days, according to the courier, and was issued to her instead of £ 30 ($ 40) in vouchers, which families in the scheme had previously received.
“I could do more with £ 30 to be honest,” wrote Roadside Mum, who said he could have bought the same amount of food for £ 5.22 ($ 7.10) at a supermarket. “The private company that has the #FSM contract has made a good profit here,” added the post.
CNN contacted Chartwells for further comments.
“We have clear guidelines and standards for basic food baskets, which we hope will be followed,” says the DfE tweet. “The plots must be nutritious and contain a variety of foods.”
Manchester United footballer Rashford campaigned last year for 1.3 million children to claim free school meal vouchers for England’s summer holidays, forcing a U-turn by the UK government. He was honored by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his campaign.
On Tuesday, Rashford posted a topic on Twitter after a conversation with Chartwells that morning. He said there was little communication with suppliers before Britain’s blockade was announced by the government.
“Children should not go hungry because we are not communicating or being transparent with the plans,” said Rashford. “This is unacceptable.”
British lawmaker Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labor Party, also joined the conversation.
In December, the humanitarian organization UNICEF announced that it would help feed people in parts of the UK for the first time in its 70-year history.
The United Nations (UN) agency said a “domestic emergency” means that vulnerable children and families need assistance due to the Covid-19 crisis.
In May 2019, a UN report on poverty in the United Kingdom said the conservative government remained in a “state of denial” over the 14 million people who lived on the livelihood line, continuing its austerity measures for nearly a decade “despite the tragic social consequences”.
The UK is the fifth largest economy in the world, but a fifth of its population lives in poverty, concluded the report, which predicted that 40% of children would live in poverty in the next two and a half years.