Labour reveals the striking similarities between shameful meal parcels and Government guidance

Wednesday, 13 January 2021 12:44

Labour today reveals that the Government’s own guidance on what should be in food parcels is strikingly similar to images circulating on social media in recent days – with less than a 50p daily difference. It comes as the party steps up pressure for the Government to ensure families are getting the full value of Free School Meals support. Ministers have described images circulating in recent days as “completely unacceptable.” The Education Secretary, Gavin...Request free trial

It comes as the party steps up pressure for the Government to ensure families are getting the full value of Free School Meals support.

Ministers have described images circulating in recent days as “completely unacceptable.”

The Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, told the Education Select Committee that “it will not be tolerated we will not live with that.”

But research from Labour suggests that the packages aren’t as far removed from Government guidance as ministers are suggesting.

Guidance written by the Department for Education and pointed to from gov.uk suggests “general principles for putting together” parcels. And the similarities between them and the images circulating are striking.

The key items missing are two ‘tins of meat’, a litre of milk and a tin of sweetcorn. A leading UK supermarket prices this at about 47p of food a day.

This doesn’t include items that are not in the guidance but in the picture, such as Soreen and pasta.

Widely shared image on social media	Government guidance
1 x loaf of bread	1 x loaf of bread
2 x potatoes	2 x potatoes
1 x tomato	3 x tomatoes
5 x portions of fruit	5 x portions of fruit
? x cheese portions	3 x cheese portions
1 x tin of baked beans	1 x tin of baked beans
3 x yoghurts	3 x individual serving yoghurt pots
1 x bag of pasta	1 x cucumber
2 x packets Soreen	1 x tin sweetcorn
2 x carrots	1 x bottle milk
	2 x tin of meat

Tulip Siddiq MP, Labour’s Shadow Children and Early Years Minister, said:

“The images that have been circulating on social media are shameful. But these revelations about the Government’s own guidance means that ministers’ newfound concern rings hollow. A couple of tins and a bottle of milk isn’t the difference between acceptable or unacceptable.

“The Government's response has yet again been far too slow, with national food vouchers only becoming available from next week - two weeks after schools moved to remote learning.

“Children are going hungry now - this cannot wait.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

‘Guidance on free school meals has been produced by the Lead Association for Catering in Education, Public Health England and the Department for Education (DfE). It sets out some general principles for putting together a lunch parcel which will allow parents and carers to prepare simple and healthy lunches for their children at home across the week.‘ from - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools

The above link directs visitors to LACA: The School Food People. Their suggested food parcel,c reated alongside DfE: https://laca.co.uk/laca-view/free-school-meals-guidance-producing-food-parcels

Suggested FSM parcel content	Estimated price (Tesco)
1 loaf of bread or pack of rolls / 10-inch wraps	Bread: £0.36
2 baking potatoes	£0.50
1 cucumber	£0.43
3 large tomatoes or 1 pack of cherry tomatoes	Cherry tomatoes £0.48
1 standard tin sweetcorn in water	£0.35
5 portions of fresh fruit (e.g. apples, satsumas, bananas) or 3 portions of fresh fruit and 1 tin fruit in juice (e.g. pears, peaches, fruit cocktail)	Pack of pears: £0.57, apples: £0.79
2 items from the following: 1 pack sliced cooked meat (e.g. chicken, ham or vegetarian alternative) or 1 tin meat or 1 tin tuna in water or 6 eggs	Ham: £0.86 Tuna: £0.59 Eggs: £0.70
200g block of cheese or 3 cheese portions	£1.55
1 tin baked beans	£0.25
1 500g pot plain low-fat yoghurt or 3 individual serving yoghurt pots	1 500g £0.90
1 litre / 2 pints semi-skimmed milk	£0.80
Total	£6.78 - £7.27

Wholemeal bread: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/299045558

Potatoes: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/253558183

Cucumber: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/253558972

Tomatoes: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/292213267

Sweetcorn: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/300792795

Pears https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/292249484

Apples https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/292249576

Cheese: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/300257410

Beans: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/254876305

Yoghurt: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/258170431

Ham: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/303880611

Eggs: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/299625707

Tuna: https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/300535536

Gavin Williamson’s statement to the Education Select Committee: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/gavin-williamson-free-school-meals-rashford-b1786511.html