Upset from York parents over food parcels for children
Parents have been sharing images of the substandard food packages they've been given to last the week
Last updated 12th Jan 2021
Parents across York have been sharing their concerns over the amount of food given to them to last their children for the week.
Packages have included two sandwiches, a few pieces of fruit and ingredients which are out of date.
Tracie Gledhill, who is a disabled mum-of-four from York, was given a parcel for children. It included two ready-made sandwiches, two potatoes, a bag of cheese, two yoghurts and two pieces of fruit.
She said: "These boxes just fill the basics. It's just the cheapest of the cheap and it feels a bit like "that'll do" rather than any consideration for the children.
"One of the parcels had half a loaf of opened bread which isn't enough for a week's worth of sandwiches. There's no date on it so for all I know it could be out of date.
"They've told me the cheese is gluten free but I don't know if it is because it's just in a loose box.
"It's a poor substitute for the vouchers and of course we appreciated them and they make a huge different, but nobody asked for this.
"Kids want to eat constantly when they're home and they're bored because they can't go out so this isn't enough.
"It comes across like all poor people deserve to be able to feed their children is pasta and chopped tomatoes."
The food parcels families have been given are meant to feed a child at lunchtime for between five and seven days.
Some parents have received abuse online for sharing their concerns about what is included in the food parcels.
Tracie, added: "It feels a little bit like someone's saying "You can't afford to feed your children, this is a handout and you should be grateful for what you're given" but really the children are being forgotten in this. It's not their fault.
"Why shouldn't our children have decent, nutritional meals? There's very little thought gone into these meals. They've just bunged a few tins of tomatoes and pasta into a bag.
"Yes there's potatoes and some veg but how many days in a row am I supposed to give my children jacket potato? Where's the meat and the proteins?"
Footballer Marcus Rashford has shared his concern for the meals being shared online.
He campaigned for free school meal vouchers to be extended across the holidays.
In the tweet he said it's "just not good enough."
The Department of Education responded to the tweet, stating: "We are looking into this.
"We have clear guidelines and standards for food parcels, which we expect to be followed. Parcels should be nutritious and contain a varied range of food."
The Children's Minister also responded to the Department for Education's tweet:
Charwells UK are one of the main contractors providing the food parcels to families during lockdown. They responded to a tweet from a parent showing the food she was given.
They said: "Thank you for bringing this to our attention, this does not reflect the specification of one of our hampers.
"We will investigate immediately."