While I absolutely love the United Kingdom, its culture, nature, and food, even I can’t deny that some of the things going on there during the Covid-19 pandemic range from full-on dystopian to just downright dingy. Case in point, parents, regular Brits, and celebs alike are up in arms over the free school meal parcels handed out to low-income families by the firm Chartwells.

After Twitter user Roadside Mum posted a photo of the meager food parcel provided by the firm, the story was almost immediately picked up by internet users and the media. She wasn’t the only one to get such a package, either. Even footballer and free school meal campaigner Marcus Rashford got involved, speaking with Chartwells. Meanwhile, the UK Government has also begun investigating the situation with its food suppliers.

Let’s call a spade a spade: some of the food packages sent by Chartwells look pathetic. The pandemic is a difficult time for all of us—laypeople and businesses alike—but it’s no excuse to skimp out on feeding Britain’s future leaders. Does this pile of food look like it’s worth 30 pounds and is supposed to last 10 school days like Roadside Mum thought? Not even close! It looks like something you could pick up at your local shop for around a fiver.

Bored Panda has reached out to Rashford, Roadside Mum, Chartwells, as well as Keil Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, for further comments on the situation.

A British mum started a storm online after she shared a photo of the free school meal parcel her family got that was supposedly meant to be worth 30 pounds

Image credits: RoadsideMum

Image credits: RoadsideMum

What British food package wouldn’t be complete without a can of beans, right? Pity it doesn’t make up for the meager quantity of food. To be fair, Chartwells has apologized. They stated that the food was only meant to last a single school week, not two; however, they accepted the fact that an insufficient amount was delivered in some cases.

“This does not reflect the specification of one of our hampers,” the firm wrote on Twitter. They also specified what kind of nutritious food was supposed to arrive in the free school meal hampers. Chartwells is also not the only British firm to deliver food hampers to students while they’re distance-learning from home during the latest lockdown.

Chartwells also claims that instead of 30 pounds, the charge for food, distribution, and packaging was allegedly 10.50 pounds.

Footballer Rashford called the situation “unacceptable” and urged everyone to do better. Meanwhile, a representative of the Labour Party told Bored Panda that they have called upon the UK Government to restart the national food vouchers scheme.

Twitter users were astonished that this happened and commented online

Image credits: Munchbunch87

Even footballer Marcus Rashford, known for his great support of free school meal vouchers, pitched in with his opinion

Image credits: MarcusRashford

Image credits: MarcusRashford

Other parents quickly shared photos of the food hampers their children received. The images are shocking

Image credits: Chef1Wayner

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Image credits: BootstrapCook

Image credits: BootstrapCook

The Department for Education is looking into the situation while Chartwells, one of the firms delivering free food, apologized

Image credits: educationgovuk

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Some Twitter users calculated how much the food in the photos was actually worth

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Here’s what others said about the entire situation

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