NEWS | Children deserve better than this – Marcus Rashford criticises Free School Meals hampers

Footballer Marcus Rashford MBE has criticised the companies that the government has handed contracts to this winter to supply free school meals to struggling families, after several members of the public took to social media to share images of the hampers they received.

One woman said that if she had purchased the items at Asda, she could’ve done so for just £5.22, rather than the £30 that is supposed to be spent on the hampers.

Priced via Asda:

Bread 89p
Beans 85p
Carrots 15p
Apples 42p
Potatoes 22p
Tomato 11p
Cheese £1.45
Frubes 33p
Pasta 10p
Soreen 40p
Bananas 30p

Public funds were charged £30. I'd have bought this for £5.22.

The private company who have the #FSM contract made good profit here.

— Louisa Britain (@RoadsideMum) January 11, 2021

Marcus Rashford MBE then got involved got involved in the debate by saying:

3 days of food for 1 family…
Just not good enough. pic.twitter.com/Y7FJEFFAma

— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) January 11, 2021

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 https://t.co/mEZ6rCA1LE

— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) January 11, 2021

The Department for Education has responded saying:

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.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance/covid-19-free-school-meals-guidance-for-schools