Marcus Rashford has criticised free school meal packages being sent to some children and families learning from home.
The parcels, which have been sent to children who would normally qualify for free school meals and are now learning remotely during the national lockdown, have been criticised online by parents.
One tweet showed a package, supposedly containing £30 worth of food to last for 10 days, comprising just a loaf of bread, some cheese, a tin of beans, two carrots, two bananas, three apples, two potatoes, a bag of pasta, three Frubes, two Soreen bars and a tomato.
In response to another post, the Manchester United striker and anti-poverty campaigner tweeted: “3 days of food for 1 family … Just not good enough”. In a later tweet, he added: “Then imagine we expect the children to engage in learning from home. Not to mention the parents who, at times, have to teach them who probably haven’t eaten at all so their children can ... We MUST do better. This is 2021.”
In response, the Department for Education tweeted: “We have clear guidelines and standards for food parcels, which we expect to be followed.” The children’s minister, Vicky Ford, said she would be “urgently” look into the matter.
Chartwells, the company which she said provided the parcel meant to last for 10 days, said it would investigate. It said: “Thank you for bringing this to our attention, this does not reflect the specification of one of our hampers.”
Keir Starmer described the situation as “a disgrace”. The Labour leader tweeted: “The images appearing online of woefully inadequate free school meal parcels are a disgrace. Where is the money going? This needs sorting immediately so families don’t go hungry through lockdown.”
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