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In the past couple of weeks, many parents in the UK have been complaining of insufficient free school meal supplies, as food parcels were brought in to replace the £30 vouchers which had previously been given to parents. Famously, this includes the story shared by
Roadside Mum on Twitter, whose package contained one loaf of bread, a can of beans, cling film-wrapped slices of cheese, a small amount of fruit and vegetables, a tiny bag of pasta, three yoghurt tubes, and two mini fruit loaves. She stated that this parcel was meant to last her child 10 days, being worth £30 in replacement of the vouchers. Yet, she calculated that it would only have cost £5.22.
There have been many other parents sharing similar stories, including one mum who said she had received tomato soup mix and tiny portions of cheese inside a money bag, while other parents stated they had needed to sacrifice food and meals to ensure their children had enough.
Chartwells, the company behind the provision of the food parcels, has apologised, claiming that the parcel was actually to last for 5 school days, and that the cost came to just above £10 when including the costs of packaging and posting. Nevertheless, this was in replacement of a £30 voucher scheme, where parents could previously choose what to spend the money on when schools were shut. Many parents have subsequently come forward, saying they would rather have just been given the voucher. The Independent has also shown that all mainstream supermarkets could provide a much greater quantity of food than that allocated to these families for £30 or less.
Chartwells is owned by Compass Group, the biggest catering company in the world. Their website boasts of serving “the very best seasonal ingredients”, along with “impeccable, lavish hospitality catering”. Back in December, they even joined Marcus Rashford’s Child Poverty Taskforce, promising to provide “healthy meals to thousands of schools across the UK. Yet, there has been concern as to whether some of the parcels contained sufficient nutrients. Meanwhile, their sister firm, Chartwells Independent, provides a very different service for private schools, including: “a selection of canapes”, “bouillabaisse”, and in one case “a gingerbread town”. Electoral Commission records show that ex-chairman of the company, Paul Walsh, donated more than £10,000 to the Conservative Party, and had been a member of Number 10’s business advisory group during the early years of David Cameron’s premiership.
The catering firm has since acknowledged that their provision had been inadequate, explaining that they had been given "short notice" to provide the hampers. Nevertheless, Labour MP Ms Chi Onwurah says she raised the issue of Chartwells' inadequate food parcel provision at the beginning of the first lockdown, and received a similar apology. Additionally, the government’s guidance on what should be supplied in a food parcel isn’t too different from what @Roadsidemum, and other parents have photographed.
Marcus Rashford has continued to campaign for better provision of free school meals, criticising these parcels as "unacceptable." Deputy Labour leader, Angela Rayner, also stated that "no child should be going hungry", inviting anyone who has been affected by this to email her. Boris Johnson's official spokesman has said they are aware of the outcry, admitting these parcels are "unacceptable." Ministers have now abandoned the "food parcel first" policy, as guidance has been changed to say that schools should have the "freedom" to choose whether to issue vouchers or food parcels.