'It's disgraceful': Parents in Northampton left upset by offering in free school meal hampers

In some cases in Northampton, parents are having to pick food parcels up for their children by travelling into their schools, with some reporting they walk one mile for the hamper while another mum said she has a 17-mile round trip.

Samantha Oakley is one mum who has to travel to receive the food for her children, she said: "I've seen comments from people talking about how free school meals is a 'luxury' and that parents should be grateful. Parents who qualify for them are in the lower income brackets in the first place!"

Many parents are calling on the Government to think about sending them £30 in free school meal vouchers next time so they can avoid this happening again, and so they can better cater for their children's dietary needs and tastes.

Over the October half-term last year, free school meal vouchers were funded two days late by Northamptonshire County Council and given to more than 17,000 children in the county to the value of £15 each.

The money used came from central government and was provided to the council for COVID-19-related costs, which included support for children.

Chez Archer is another parent who has been left dissatisfied by the service provided: "My child is in reception and gets free school meals. Our school have offered me a packed lunch but I have to go collect it every day at lunch time.

"School is a few miles away - it makes no sense at all. I'm just grateful that I was able to buy a little bit of extra none perishables every food shop for the last six months!.

"Feel so sorry for the children whose parents are struggling, lost their jobs or on 80 per cent. Sad situation for all involved. The Government should be ashamed as someone's clearly making a profit off these 'food parcels'. Definitely not £30 worth of food there! These packs are suppose to last 10 school days."

Photo of the food parcels, which have been shared widely online, appear to show around £5 worth of food, despite each hamper costing the taxpayer £30 - leading to many people questioning how Chartwells, one of the companies awarded a contract to distribute the food, are being allowed to do this. Chartwells have said the offering 'falls short of their hamper specification'.Thomas Maddison was one of those parents who said that he believed he got around £6 worth of food in the hamper for his child. He said: "The potatoes had to be thrown. It’s disgraceful. We got a £30 voucher over Christmas and that was so much more beneficial."

Another parent, Kyla Pentelo, only received three potatoes, three apples, one slice of cheese, a small pot of jam and two small butters, for ten days for her child.

She said: "I contacted the school this morning to clarify and the receptionist informed me that this was for ten days. I’m not solely dependent on this but so many are. Such a sad situation for people struggling financially."

Footballer and poverty campaigner Marcus Rashford has also hit out at the lack of food being given to children to last them for ten days while they study at home.