[Food] Child food hampers

[Worthing exile]

Am I missing something with all this Rashford food hamper thing?

I always thought it was a parents responsibility to give their child a good breakfast and a good evening meal. School lunches was there to pick up any slack and feed children who didn't get fed at home. Other kids just took a lunch box with a 'snack'.

Why is everybody now moaning about these hampers not being enough to 'feed their kids for 3 days?' It isn't meant to. There seems plenty in the photos for healthy lunchtime snacks.

Now ducks and awaits the lectures.

 

[tiberious]

Am I missing something with all this Rashford food hamper thing?

I always thought it was a parents responsibility to give their child a good breakfast and a good evening meal. School lunches was there to pick up any slack and feed children who didn't get fed at home. Other kids just took a lunch box with a 'snack'.

Why is everybody now moaning about these hampers not being enough to 'feed their kids for 3 days?' It isn't meant to. There seems plenty in the photos for healthy lunchtime snacks.

Now ducks and awaits the lectures.

I am with you on this. Wife works with a woman at RSCH whose husband also works but still get free school meals. When my children were young it was those most in need and parents not working. I suppose Im just a dinosaur who believes is you want children you ensure you can support them, Like you I await flaming.

 

[beorhthelm]

children getting free school meals (because of circumstances) are entitled to free lunches while schools are off. its assumed that often those circumstance mean the school meal is their only substantial meal.

some people have thought whats provided isnt sufficient, on the misunderstanding they cost £30 and cover two weeks. it turns out they cost £10.50 and cover a week. some are still unsubstantial by that measure too (some look fair enough), though there's also some bogus claims on social media to stir it up a good political mess.

meanwhile no really gets into the issue why are we simply not giving vouchers to cover this, apparently thats decided by schools/local authorities.

 

[Barham's tash]

Not interested in the debate around who qualifies and who doesn’t but I am absolutely ashamed that the unit cost of £30 allocated to the contractors appears to have resulted in about a fivers worth of food.

It’s absolutely disgusting that such profiteering from those in need can happen but all to be expected from this government who’s management style of EVERYTHING appears to be delegate and sub contract out whilst not bothering to do any checks on implementation or VFM.

 

[Jim D]

Am I missing something with all this Rashford food hamper thing?

I always thought it was a parents responsibility to give their child a good breakfast and a good evening meal. School lunches was there to pick up any slack and feed children who didn't get fed at home. Other kids just took a lunch box with a 'snack'.

Why is everybody now moaning about these hampers not being enough to 'feed their kids for 3 days?' It isn't meant to. There seems plenty in the photos for healthy lunchtime snacks.

Now ducks and awaits the lectures.

I don't think the hampers are meant to feed kids for 3 days, they were meant to be for a week or even longer. But the main issue to me is that the taxpayers are charged £30 per hamper and the cost of the contents, bought in a supermarket, would be no more than £4 or £5. This is blatant profiteering and, in the time of such an emergency, the suppliers should be severely punished. There are too many looking to fill their boots with taxpayers money.

 

[neilbard]

Not interested in the debate around who qualifies and who doesn’t but I am absolutely ashamed that the unit cost of £30 allocated to the contractors appears to have resulted in about a fivers worth of food.

It’s absolutely disgusting that such profiteering from those in need can happen but all to be expected from this government who’s management style of EVERYTHING appears to be delegate and sub contract out whilst not bothering to do any checks on implementation or VFM.

Yes the government are partly to blame, but the despicable contractors should be named and shamed, what a ****ing crap country we have become.

 

[schmunk]

A lot of the hoo-haa has come from the below image shared by "RoadsideMum" on Twitter, where she said it was 10 days of food for her 2 children and replaced £30 of food vouchers she would otherwise have received. There was then massed outrage on the basis that a) this is not enough food for the children, and b) it didn't represent £30 of value compared to going to a supermarket (she priced it up at Aldi at £5.22)

The provider, Chartwells, has since clarified that this is actually 5 lunches for 1 child and they billed the government £10.50, which includes the costs of distribution.

I think that without the "fake news" from Twitter this wouldn't have been half as much of a story.

 

[beorhthelm]

I don't think the hampers are meant to feed kids for 3 days, they were meant to be for a week or even longer. But the main issue to me is that the taxpayers are charged £30 per hamper and the cost of the contents, ...

but where did you get that information from? and where did they get it from? for the main issue, its not clear at all where that number comes from, other than assumptions.

 

[Pevenseagull]

Yes the government are partly to blame, but the despicable contractors should be named and shamed, what a ****ing crap country we have become.

It appears it didn't go out to tender, the contract was awarded to a company who's CEO was an advisor to Cameron and the company is a Tory donor. I'd say 'substantially' rather than 'partly'.

as an aside I was bored yesterday and had a look what £30 gets you in Tesco.

starting with the contents of a typical 'Chartwell' package ... but more of it.

4 baking potatoes, 1kg carrots, 6 apples, 4 cans of beans, 10 bananas, 5 of those soreen things, 10 cheese slices, pack of spaghetti, loaf of bread, 500g tomatoes, 9 frubes = £8.86.

which leaves enough for

2.5Kg spuds, 10 fish fingers, a dozen sausages, 6 chicken drumsticks, 1/2kg mince, 1/2 kg onions, bag of greens, 2 burger buns, 400gms mushrooms, clove of garlic, 3 peppers, ready roll pizza dough, bulb of garlic, 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, 500gm penne, pack of butter, 500gm cornflakes, 1l full fat, 1lsemi skimmed (filtered, lasts longer) 400gms cheddar, 2 part baked baguettes, 2 tins of soup, orange squash, 6 packets of crisps, mozarella, tin of tuna, 100gm bar of chocolate, a BIRDS TRIFLE trifle kit and a ****ing avocado.

25p change ... and that's retail price.


(that said the cheap sausages looked a bit rank)

 

[Wrong-Direction]

The rich get richer whilst the poor get poorer should answer your question.

Sent from my SM-A600FN using Tapatalk

 

[neilbard]

It appears it didn't go out to tender, the contract was awarded to a company who's CEO was an advisor to Cameron and the company is a Tory donor. I'd say 'substantially' rather than 'partly'.

as an aside I was bored yesterday and had a look what £30 gets you in Tesco.

starting with the contents of a typical 'Chartwell' package ... but more of it.

4 baking potatoes, 1kg carrots, 6 apples, 4 cans of beans, 10 bananas, 5 of those soreen things, 10 cheese slices, pack of spaghetti, loaf of bread, 500g tomatoes, 9 frubes = £8.86.

which leaves enough for

2.5Kg spuds, 10 fish fingers, a dozen sausages, 6 chicken drumsticks, 1/2kg mince, 1/2 kg onions, bag of greens, 2 burger buns, 400gms mushrooms, clove of garlic, 3 peppers, ready roll pizza dough, bulb of garlic, 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, 500gm penne, pack of butter, 500gm cornflakes, 1l full fat, 1lsemi skimmed (filtered, lasts longer) 400gms cheddar, 2 part baked baguettes, 2 tins of soup, orange squash, 6 packets of crisps, mozarella, tin of tuna, 100gm bar of chocolate, a BIRDS TRIFLE trifle kit and a ****ing avocado.

25p change ... and that's retail price.


(that said the cheap sausages looked a bit rank)

What does £30 worth get you at Lidl's?

 

[Ike and Tina Burner]

What was the problem with the vouchers? Oh yeah apparently they were being spent in brothels despite there being absolutely no evidence to suggest so. Instead we now have Tory donors charging the taxpayer £30 for a hamper, sending out food worth literally pennies and pocketing the difference.

 

[Wardy's twin]

A lot of the hoo-haa has come from the below image shared by "RoadsideMum" on Twitter, where she said it was 10 days of food for her 2 children and replaced £30 of food vouchers she would otherwise have received. There was then massed outrage on the basis that a) this is not enough food for the children, and b) it didn't represent £30 of value compared to going to a supermarket (she priced it up at Aldi at £5.22)

The provider, Chartwells, has since clarified that this is actually 5 lunches for 1 child and they billed the government £10.50, which includes the costs of distribution.

I think that without the "fake news" from Twitter this wouldn't have been half as much of a story.

That's £5-6 of food but costs £10.50... It clearly needs to be reviewed as the proportion of benefit i.e. food is disproportionate to cost.

As has been said alternative ways of doing this should be done e.g. food vouchers and IF it needs policing then do that via personal ID.

 

[Dr Q]

What does £30 worth get you at Lidl's?

A cement mixer and a gazebo

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Not interested in the debate around who qualifies and who doesn’t but I am absolutely ashamed that the unit cost of £30 allocated to the contractors appears to have resulted in about a fivers worth of food.

It’s absolutely disgusting that such profiteering from those in need can happen but all to be expected from this government who’s management style of EVERYTHING appears to be delegate and sub contract out whilst not bothering to do any checks on implementation or VFM.

I’m pretty sure the Government do check who they subcontract this work to; it can’t take that long to scroll through their contact list and pick out a friend or the partner of a cabinet colleague.

 

[beorhthelm]

It appears it didn't go out to tender, ...

what didnt go to tender? school meals have been outsourced by local authorities for decades. i'd assume they called upon their existing provider to continue with service to home.

 

[mwrpoole]

meanwhile no really gets into the issue why are we simply not giving vouchers to cover this, apparently thats decided by schools/local authorities.

I worked in the Benefits industry for many years and quite a few were dealing with emergency payments to families. In the early years cash was handed out but it soon became a very badly managed and abused system. A lot of LA's started handing out food bank vouchers instead. A lot tried handing out supermarket vouchers and unfortunately a small minority spoilt it for the rest. Selling a £20 voucher for £10 cash was not uncommon. They tried restricting what you could use the vouchers for but some supermarkets wouldn't go along with that. Sainsbury's did, vouchers couldn't be used for lottery/fags/alcohol but complaints soon came in of customers creating problems in the supermarkets when they were denied buying what they wanted, so that got stopped as well.

As I say a small minority trying to abuse the system has meant that the Govt just don't trust parents to do the right thing and hence you have food parcels.

 

[Justice]

What does £30 worth get you at Lidl's?

I bought a boat for £30 middle isle job, sturdy bit of kit might use it one day.

 

[zefarelly]

There is a continuing trend of profitable contracts being awarded by central governemt to dubious companies for services to the nation, funded by the state/tax payer. These contracts are not generally open to tender, or subject to scrutiny, and many of the companies have been set up specifically to take advantagfe of these facts, aided and abetted by members of the house. This constitutes a disgusting conflicy of interest and really should have stopped years ago. The tories are not the only ones but it would appear have really made the practice their own and what can only be described as the legal crime of the century.

The fact that in this instance dependant children from deprived backgrounds weill suffer as a consequence just further highlights how despicable, greedy, selfish, and uncaring our governemnent is. Shame on them. I can only pity the poor souls daft enough to have been hood winked by their election lies and fooled into voting from them.

I had dinner tickets for a few years aged 7-9, my Dad left, my mum was at home unable to work with 2 young boys to feed, I wouldn't have starved, but I got a decent lunch at Buckingham middle school, and it really made a difference. I remember there not being much in the cupboards at home and the struggle for a few years, council flat, B&B briefly. Mum never deprived us in any way, more likely deprived herself. I'll be forever grateful for that little bit of state help which saw us through a bad patch. to see half or more of that state aid going in a snakes pocket makes me extremely angry and sad, and further highlights what a horrible little country we've become.

 

[zefarelly]

A cement mixer and a gazebo

A compressor and an inflatable mum