'We had Eat Out to Help Out while children went hungry' - rage in South Tyneside over handling of free school meals

Ministers have faced scrutiny this week over apparent deficiencies in the food parcels delivered to the UK’s poorest pupils who are missing out on their regular free school meals due to the latest national coronavirus lockdown.

It also again brought into focus the hardship suffered by many families as a result of the pandemic.

South Shields MP Emma Lewell-Buck voiced her disgust over the ‘sub-standard’ food packages which had been sent to families as community leaders met to discuss the issue in South Tyneside.

She also turned her fire on Government priorities which saw restaurant meals subsidised while food banks were struggling to feed hungry families.

The MP suggested radical proposals such as a universal basic income (UBI) may offer a solution to the hardships many are facing as a result of the pandemic.

“I’ve recently become a convert to UBI, during the pandemic,” she told a meeting of South Tyneside Council’s People Select Committee on January 12.

“Historically it was something I hadn’t supported, but if that had been in place during the pandemic a lot of people wouldn’t be in the dire state they are in now.

“All governments have priorities and can decide what to spend their money on [like the] Eat Out to Help Out scheme while kids were going hungry.

“At the time we had people in foodbanks with empty shelves, desperately trying to feed people.”

The issue has been seized on by hunger campaigner and footballer Marcus Rashford, who is also backing Lewell-Buck’s bid to secure extra government funding for school breakfast provision in England’s most deprived schools.

The Labour MP appeared at the virtual meeting to answer questions on her involvement with the Feeding Britain network, which supports food banks and other hunger schemes.

But she also insisted she believes food banks should not exist and called it ‘shameful and disgusting’ that they could be on track to become an ‘embedded part of the welfare state’.

Green councillor David Francis, used the session to quiz her on possible responses to the Government’s ‘inadequate’ food packages.

He said: “This problem should really not exist in this country – the immorality of this is staggering.

“In the last year (2020) you’ve been able to go out and get a half-price Nando’s thanks to Rishi Sunak, but [at the same time] there’s children who haven’t got enough food to eat before they go to school.

“That is completely immoral and wrong.”

Boris Johnson has condemned some of the free school meal offerings being sent to families as “disgraceful” after images of poor-quality food parcels were widely shared on social media.

The Prime Minister said photos of meals delivered to parents during the latest lockdown were “appalling” and an “insult” to the families who had received them.

How free school meals work in South Tyneside while children are learning from home

A spokesman for South Tyneside Council said: "We prepare our own food parcels and have delivered around 1,000 parcels to South Tyneside families entitled to free school meals since September.

"We have not had a single complaint. When demand is exceptionally high we outsource to a North East-based food wholesaler.

“Our parcels contain a generous, balanced mix of fruit, vegetables and protein-packed items aimed at boosting children’s concentration levels to help them learn effectively.”

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