Tory Free School Meals Scandal

After being relentlessly pressured for a whole year by Marcus Rashford, you would think the Government was learning they just can’t get away with it like they used to, right ?

But as the pandemic has shown this particular administration has quite the talent for flamboyant profiteering. The latest act of Tory cronyism comes in the shape of free school meals. Private company Chartwells has come under heavy fire after it was revealed they had been delivering free school meal food hampers meant to cost £30 that in actuality only had £6 worth of food in them.

Chartwells is a part of the Compass Group, the chairman of which is Paul Walsh a massive Tory donor who served on former PM David Cameron’s business advisory group.

Food parcels have been brought in to replace the £30 vouchers given to parents to spend in supermarkets as schools close for remote learning but for some across the country the quality and quantity of the food has significantly reduced. Parents have even taken to social media to show the dire state the supposed relief has left them in.

Marcus Rashford has again taken it upon himself to call for the government to do its due diligence and ensure they are delivering an adequate service to the most vulnerable in our society.

After tweeting “ Children deserve better than this…”, Rashford had a conversation with Chartwells, who confirmed they would be having a meeting with DfE later today.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education also said they would be looking into the situation. “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.”