The catering firm at the centre of the free school meals scandal has been slammed by two mothers who claim they were sent boxes containing mould-covered vegetables and rotten fruit.
Chartwells came under attack last month after campaigning footballer Marcus Rashford shared a picture of a paltry food parcel sent to parents of children on free school meals to cover at least five days of lunches during lockdown.
And now, two mothers are claiming the scandal – which Boris Johnson called an ‘insult to families’ – is far from over.
Kerry Elson from Yatton, Somerset, shared a picture of the mould-coated tomatoes, rotten pears and dried-out carrots provided by the firm.
She blasted the food as ‘inedible’ and ‘unacceptable’ from Chartwells – run by £24.8billion-earning Compass Group UK & Ireland whose chairman was until recently a Tory donor.
The catering firm at the centre of the free school meals scandal has been slammed by mother Kerry Elson (pictured with her daughter Darcey) who claims she was sent boxes containing mould-covered vegetables and rotten fruit
Kerry from Yatton, Somerset, shared a picture of the mould-coated tomatoes (left), rotten pears (right) and dried-out carrots provided by the firm
Full-time mother-of-four Kerry said: ‘It was really bad, there was some [dried] food like a small bag of pasta and that was fine – but the rest was inedible.
‘There was potatoes and they were sprouting and squidgy, they were the worst. The tomatoes had mould on them and the onions did too.
‘The bananas were brown, they were gone – and the pears were so soft I could put my finger through them.’
Kerry has now set up a Facebook support page with her sister-in-law Ellis Elson so parents who rely on school meals can come together and share their experiences.
Kerry added: ‘We set this up because we felt so passionately that if we are suffering, other parents are suffering, and is it fair that parents have to choose between feeding their children rotten food or not feeding them at all?
Full-time mother-of-four Kerry (pictured with her son Kingsley) said: ‘It was really bad, there was some perishable food like a small bag of pasta and that was fine – but the rest was inedible’
Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford (pictured with his mother Melanie at a food bank last year) has been campaigning for free school meals
Kerry blasted the food (some pictured) as ‘inedible’ and ‘unacceptable’ from Chartwells – run by £24.8billion-earning Compass Group UK & Ireland whose chairman was until recently a Tory donor
Kerry is mother to Kody, 13, (right) Jenson, nine, (middle) Darcey, six, (left) and Kingsley, one
‘It’s completely unacceptable, I would not feed this to any of my children.
‘Chartwells seem to reckon they are improving, but Christ – I dread to think what it was like before.’
Kerry is mother to Kody, 13, Jenson, nine, Darcey, six, and Kingsley, one.
Her sister-in-law Ellis told the BBC: ‘You pick a pear up and put your thumb through it. It almost feels like our children are being punished.
‘To think that someone is hand selecting these items to put into the box, to distribute to low-income families, there is no care or thought put into that.’
A spokesperson for Chartwells said: ‘Unfortunately it is impossible to tell whether the pictures provided are from one of our parcels.
‘It is important to stress that if a parent is ever unhappy with what they receive they can call our helpline and receive a replacement parcel within 24 hours.
‘We have substantially enhanced our lunch parcels in the last three weeks, and are also providing free breakfast too.
‘We have supplied over 30,000 parcels in the last two weeks and have been receiving lots of positive feedback from parents.’
The row over free meals was sparked by a mother called Sarah – RoadsideMum on Twitter – who originally said a sparse package from suppliers Chartwells was supposed to be worth £30 and last ten days.
She accepted the groceries had only been intended to last her child seven days, but the firm nevertheless apologised and admitted the parcel was not up to standard.
The Prime Minister last month assured senior MPs that Chartwells had been ‘hauled over the coals’.
Answering a question from Education Select Committee chairman Robert Halfon at the Liaison Committee, he said: ‘You are right to be obviously outraged by the images that we have seen.
‘And the companies in question – or certainly one of the most notorious pictures, the company responsible for that, and others – have been hauled over the coals and asked to explain how this has happened.
‘They have apologised and they have reimbursed the schools concerned and pledged not to do it again.
The food parcel that caused the scandal contained just £5.22 of food and sparked an apology
Food firm Chartwells then released this of how its five-day school meals hamper should look
What should be in a food hamper for school meals lasting a child for one week
‘I should stress that the images did not reflect the actual Government guidance which is for about double the quantity of food for lunch packs for five days that you have seen, if not more.’
Home Secretary Priti Patel called for Chartwells to be punished at the time, declaring ‘they should be ashamed of themselves’ over the packages.
The Home Secretary described the food package from the firm an ‘appalling display’ that was ‘totally unacceptable’.
Chartwells later revealed an image of how its five-day school meals hamper should look.
A Government investigation is currently underway into the meal – which prompted a reintroduction of the more popular vouchers from January 18.
Schools can choose between the vouchers or the food parcels.
But even those are feared to have caused further problems – after concerns having to print them out at home to spend could be difficult for families with no equipment.
Amy Weldon, 24, told how she had been given her daughter’s food parcel in a bin bag. It is not clear if the parcel was sent by Chartwells
Katie Newton, from Harrogate, got a food parcel for Rylan Blakey which was not enough
It held two sandwiches, two potatoes, grated cheese, yoghurts, one apple and an orange. It is not clear if the parcel was sent by Chartwells
The issue of pupils’ lunches while schools are shut in lockdown has prompted furious debate among politicians, celebrities and families.
Mrs Patel said: ‘The vouchers scheme is coming back in place on January 18 – quite frankly that scheme is just so, so important.
‘I do think the company that was involved in that appalling display of food parcels should be ashamed of themselves, quite frankly.
‘It’s totally unacceptable and it is right that the Government is investigating them. I personally think that some action should be taken against that company,’ she added in an interview with Holly Willoughby and Philip Schofield on This Morning.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced he would be reintroducing the £15 tokens in January.
But some require them to be printed at home, causing another headache for poorer families without access to that kind of equipment.
Footballer Marcus Rashford – who has campaigned for free school meals – said: ‘One thing I touched on with the Prime Minister was ways to course correct on the voucher scheme.
‘If families can’t access food consistently likelihood is they do not have access to a printer to print the vouchers at home. They agreed to look into this.’
The Government faced further criticism last moth over plans for children to get their free supplies from a different scheme.
Currently money paying for parcels and lunches comes from a Department for Education initiative.
But new guidance on the free lockdown packages has said they will stop in the February half term and families will need to use the DWP-administered Covid Winter Grant Scheme through their local council.
It has sparked fears from Unions that the process could be mired in red tape and run the risk of children going hungry.
Meals campaigner Mr Rashford had however praised the initiative when it was announced last year.
After the £170million grant was revealed in November he had said ‘I very much welcome the steps that have been taken to combat child food poverty in the UK’.
The new criticism is understood to have stunned ministers and No 10.
Government heads and Downing Street have insisted the scheme will crossover with the current package to ensure no-one misses out.
Union bosses slammed the project , fearing it would leave children hungry.
Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: ‘This is an unnecessary logistical nightmare.
‘The Government has, once again, revealed its total disregard for those hardest hit by the ongoing health pandemic.
‘After a year in which the stark inequalities faced by millions of children and young people has been at the forefront of the minds of the public, the ugly spectre of holiday hunger is now looming yet again.’
These items were sent out to parents in Medway, Kent, from a school to feed their children last month
St Francis de Sales Catholic Junior School in Merseyside were giving out these parcels last month
This parcel was received by an angry mother who had no idea how to make meals from it