In January, a meagre food parcel provided by Chartwells to children eligible for free school meals went viral on social media. The image as shown on the right, is the amount that Chartwells claimed £30 of food to look like.
To get an understanding of the parcel cost provided by Chartwells, we asked Mint Lane Café for an evaluation on the food parcel – based on their Thrifty shop prices, the parcel was no more than £1.70.
Out of curiosity, we then asked Mint Lane Café to assemble £30 of food from their Thrifty Café, the picture below is the result and the disparity couldn’t be clearer.
Perhaps giving those eligible, a £30 voucher or cash to spend at a store of choice could prove to be more effective.
Especially given that more stores, such as the Mint Lane Café are developing menu cards to guide people to the best combination of foods to buy and cook – at no extra cost.
Greater Lincolnshire Food Partnership 