WARRINGTON Borough Council has moved to reassure parents and families that no schoolchild will go hungry in the borough, in the wake of concerns raised around the quality of national free school meal parcels.
All of Warrington’s schools are issuing food vouchers to those eligible to provide support to families, with additional food parcels also being provided by school kitchens.
Leader of Warrington Borough Council, Cllr Russ Bowden, and Cabinet member for children’s services, Cllr Matt Smith, said: “We want to reassure parents following concerns raised about the standard of the food parcels being provided nationally, to children eligible for free school meals, during the current lockdown.
“Some of the pictures we have seen of the food parcels provided to families by the Government’s contractor have been really saddening. Our children need the best, healthiest start to life, for their wellbeing and to be successful learners. A child cannot concentrate properly on a grumbling stomach and we believe that parents should not be exposed to extra anxiety at what is already a very difficult time.
“We are pleased to say that all of Warrington’s schools are providing supermarket vouchers for eligible children, with a small number of food parcels being produced by school kitchens for those families where a voucher isn’t suitable.
“The cost of basic food is going up and families are under so much pressure, and we really hope that the vouchers issued by Warrington’s schools provide the support our children and families need. They enable parents to make the most of the £15 per week funding available and also to make the right choices for their children.”
For any queries related to free school meals, please contact your child’s school in the first instance. For other education queries related to the council, please contact the Education Services team at [email protected]
2 Comments
No one wants to see children go hungry but it would seem some of the firms providing free meal packages have been shortchanging not only the children nut also the government, who pay for the meals.
But what I really want to know is this|: How come the parents of children entitled to free school meals can afford a smart phones to post pictures of the meals on social media?
It’s just a shame it does not provide food to all who receive free school meals at school. Reception, year1 and year2 would normally receive a meal at school but some of their parents may not be in receipt of pupil premium as they earn just over the threshold to benefit for this help. These should be included in the care packages they receive at school why should they not at home what is the difference