Nearly 2,500 food parcels delivered to Plymouth families in a week
CATERed are working to provide high quality food parcels
Plymouth City Council and school meals provider CATERed are reassuring families about the types of food parcels they will be receiving.
It follows mass coverage yesterday (12 January) about the quality of food parcels in other parts of the country - with some claiming they got what looked like £5 worth of goods, not the £30 it should be.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson says he was 'absolutely disgusted' at pictures of some food parcels sent to low income families this week.
Companies have been ordered to improve offerings to those who are entitled to free school meals.
Plymouth City Council say they are 'really proud of the healthy and nutritious meals provided by CATERed':
"The staff are working really hard to provide high quality food parcels for eligible families and so far this week they have provided 2,434 food parcels to Plymouth families."
The food parcels CATERed supply provide all the ingredients parents need to make five simple lunches (Monday to Friday) in place of a lunch that would have been received in school.
What’s in a weekly food parcel from CATERed?
- 1 x loaf of bread or 1 x pack of rolls / 10-inch wraps
- 1 x baking potatoes
- 1 x cucumber
- 3 x large tomatoes or 1 pack of cherry tomatoes
- 1 x standard tin sweetcorn in water
- 5 x portions of fresh fruit (e.g. apples, satsumas, bananas) or 3 x portions of fresh fruit and 1 x tin fruit in juice (e.g. pears, peaches, fruit cocktail)
- 2 x items from the following: 1 x pack sliced cooked meat (e.g. chicken, ham or vegetarian / vegan alternative) or 1 x tin meat or
- 1 x tin tuna in water or 6 eggs
- 200g block of cheese or 3 cheese portions
- 1 x tin baked beans
- 1 x 500g pot plain low-fat yoghurt or 3 individual serving yoghurt pots
- 1 x litre/2 pints semi-skimmed milk
"I think there is some confusion over the perception that caterers have been given extra funding to provide these food parcels - we don't.
"It's about getting food and ingredients to families to help them with five lunches a week and if there are families where four children are eligible, then we send out a parcel for four children, we don't make it stretch."