FREE school meal vouchers will return next week after Marcus Rashford today held a call with Boris Johnson over “unacceptable” food parcels sent to parents.
The football ace – who forced the Government into a u-turn on feeding the UK’s most vulnerable kids during lockdown – said the PM has also ordered an investigation into the deliveries.
It follows an outpouring of fury after the Manchester United ace highlighted photos of the meagre food parcels sent out by school meals supplier Chartwells.
After the furious backlash, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson this morning announced that parents will be able to use the Free Schools Meals voucher scheme again from Monday and shop for their kids’ lunches themselves.
Parents will be able to get £15-worth of vouchers to use at supermarkets or continue to use the food parcels system that the Prime Minister has vowed to improve.
Rashford said: “Just had a good conversation with the Prime Minister.
“He has assured me that he is committed to correcting the issue with the food hampers and that a full review of the supply chain is taking place.
“He agrees that images of hampers being shared on Twitter are unacceptable.”
Downing Street said the PM called Rashford to thank him for highlighting the issue.
Mr Johnson told him the contents of some parcels were ‘completely unacceptable” and that the Government will be taking ‘immediate steps’ to correct the problem.
It comes as:
- Education chiefs have admitted schools could stay closed beyond the February half-term
- Covid measures could be tightened within days if cases continue to spiral
- Jeremy Clarkson urges Brits to put down the remote and join Trending In The News’s Jabs Army
- Asda will be the first supermarket to offer customers Covid jabs in-store
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Johnson said: “I don’t think anybody is happy with the disgraceful images that we’ve seen the food parcels that have been offered, they are appalling and they are an insult to families.”
“I’m grateful by the way to Marcus Rashford has highlighted the issue and is doing quite an effective job by comparison with (Sir Keir Starmer) in holding the Government to account for these issues.
“The company in question has rightly apologised and agreed to reimburse.”
Mr Williamson told a committee of MPs today he had been “absolutely disgusted” by the packages adding: “From next week, the national food voucher scheme will be available to all schools.”
A review has been demanded by No10 after mums and dads revealed meagre meal replacements for their hungry children.
Frantic parents shared pictures of potatoes and cans of beans, a loaf of bread and a block of cheese or boxes of cold chips after expecting enough food for a week’s worth of lunches.
Many have also been sent five bottles of water – despite being able to give their children water from the tap.
Some say they hadn’t received anything yet after weeks of waiting.
Yesterday, Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson told the media: “We are aware of those images circulating on social media.
“It’s clear that the contents of those food parcels are completely unacceptable.
“The Department for Education is looking into this urgently and the minister for children, Vicky Ford, is speaking to the company responsible and they will be making it clear that boxes like this should not be given to families.”
And Rashford, who has long campaigned to keep kids fed throughout the pandemic through free school meals, has shared photos of the paltry packages on Twitter.
One mum posted of a parcel intended to feed her kids for ten days.
She claimed instead of £30 worth of food to replace ten days of school lunches, she only got a bundle worth £5.22 to last for ten days.
The sportsman, who has described how free school dinners kept him going as a boy, said: “One thing that is clear is that there was very little communication with the suppliers that a national lockdown was coming.
“We MUST do better. Children shouldn’t be going hungry on the basis that we aren’t communicating or being transparent with plans. That is unacceptable.”
During the summer, Rashford forced a Government U-turn over feeding hungry kids during the holidays.
In October, MPs also rejected a Labour motion to extend the free school meals until Easter 2021 – but were later forced into a second turn-around over the issue.
Those eligible for free school meals are entitled to £30 food vouchers for 10 days of school lunches, though some parents have stated they have received food bundles that cost a fraction of the price
Chartwells, which supplied some of the packages, has apologised and said it would “refund the costs” of those who had received inadequate parcels.
They said: “We have had time to investigate the picture circulated on Twitter.
“For clarity this shows five days of free school lunches (not ten days) and the charge for food, packing and distribution was actually £10.50 and not £30 as suggested.
“However, in our efforts to provide thousands of food parcels a week at extremely short notice we are very sorry the quantity has fallen short in this instance.”
Besides providing refunds, the food supplier said it would contact “every school” to pin down where any shortages may have occurred and “we will apologise to anyone affected”.
It will also make sure that its 10-day food hampers reflect the government’s additional £3.50 funding allocation as of next Monday and ensure “that every penny goes into the provision of the food”.
This morning, Piers Morgan called the deliveries a “complete disgrace” – as Matt Hancock refused seven times to say if he regrets voting against free school meals.
During an interview on GMB that descended into a car crash, the Health Secretary repeatedly parroted that he’s “really glad it’s happening now”.
