Suppliers slammed by Worksop parents over meagre food parcels

This week it emerged that the Department for Education was encouraging schools to switch to the parcels instead of issuing £15 vouchers - which cover five days of lunchtime meals.

Photos posted online show the parcels containing meagre rations with very little fruit and vegetables - with reports of food very close to their use-by dates.

One Bassetlaw mum, who did not want to be named, told Worksop Guardian how her two children had to share two small potatoes, five cherry tomatoes, one apple, one clementine, half a cucumber and four small bread rolls.

The pathetic offering also included one pear, a baby lettuce, one tin of tuna and a carton of UHT milk.

Speaking about the parcel the fed-up mum, whose children attend Kingston Park Academy and Outwood Academy Portland, said: “I’m grateful for what I can have but I’m also annoyed.

“The food they’ve provided isn't enough for five meals for an 11-year-old and a 9-year-old to eat.

“When we received vouchers I was able to do a shop that got warm meals and desserts for five full days with no waste.

“The tinned foods that we won't use will be re-donated at the food bank.”

Guardian readers reacted angrily to the news on Facebook - with many saying suppliers were ‘profiteering’ from the Government’s free school meal funding.

Joe Ellis said: “We as the tax payer are paying for this & they aren’t receiving £30 worth of food & the company’s handing them out are profiting off us.

“Furthermore, I wouldn’t feed the food on offer to my dog let alone my child.”

Natasha Denity Darby said: “What I have seen in the photos is equaling to about £7 at the most so somewhere along the line the company is making a good profit on money that came out of the pot to feed children.”

Guidance from the Department for Education (DfE) states schools can claim £15 per eligible pupil, per week where vouchers for local shops or supermarkets are being provided.

The DfE say schools can choose to continue offering vouchers however they are ‘encouraged’ to provide lunch parcels ‘where feasible’.

Bassetlaw MP Brendan Clarke-Smith told how ‘some of the food parcels we have seen online have clearly been inadequate’.

He added: “I’m pleased that the Secretary of State has met with catering firms to re-emphasise the guidance and standards we have set out regarding the content of parcels.

“As before, schools will have the choice of using food parcels or a local-national voucher scheme.

“We should be clear that these are companies that have been contracted by schools and local authorities, not the Government.

“The parcels are also meant to make up for the lunch entitlement that pupils will miss out on as a result of not being able to attend school.

“They are not intended to cover all daily meals or as food for other family members - although there are special schemes in place for struggling families through the Covid-19 Winter Grant Scheme.”

In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor