Learn from free school meals failings during pandemic, MPs urge

In its latest report, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) select committee calls on the government to “learn from the unacceptable food parcels provided by some suppliers in January” which were distributed to children eligible for free school meals when schools closed. 

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Pictures of sparse parcels containing half portions of fruits and vegetables sparked uproar when they were shared on social media.

The report states: “We heard evidence that many wholesalers who were providing pupils with food parcels, provided them in line with government guidance. However, a minority of parcels were clearly unacceptable.”

It adds: “It is important that the sector and government learns from these failings and ensures that any future offering is consistently up to standard and delivers value for money.

“The problems with food parcels exacerbated the difficulties for wholesalers caused by short-notice school closures and led to significant losses for a sector that was already struggling.”

Recommendations made in its follow-up to the July 2020 Covid-19 and Food Supply report also include appointing a new minister for food security as figures show one in 10 families faced food poverty during the first two national lockdowns.

The government should also launch a consultation on a legal “right to food” in England which should be addressed in its white paper on the National Food Strategy which is due to be published early this summer, the committee said. 

It has also recommended that the government should provide ongoing support to charities working to distribute surplus food to frontline food aid providers.

Neil Parish MP, chair of the EFRA select committee, said: “During the Covid crisis, different government departments pulled together to make sure that the most vulnerable in our society were fed. This should set a precedent. We have a duty to ensure that access to enough nutritious food is a fundamental right for everyone in the UK, which is why, for the second time in a year, our committee urges the government to appoint a new minister specifically to address food security.

“The government must now learn lessons from the pandemic, using the teething problems it encountered in distributing food to ensure that, in 'normal times', disadvantaged groups - such as those without internet access - do not slip between the cracks.”