Marcus Rashford has slammed the “unacceptable” £30 free school meal packages after several images went viral on social media yesterday.
The Manchester United and England star has branded the free school meal packages being sent to some children learning from home as “not good enough” as the parcels – which have been sent to families who would normally qualify for free school meals and are now learning remotely during the national lockdown – have been criticised online by parents.
Several posts documenting the food provisions have garnered widespread attention on Twitter.
One tweet showed a package – supposedly containing £30 worth of food to last for 10 days – comprising of just a loaf of bread, some cheese, a tin of beans, two carrots, two bananas, three apples, two potatoes, a bag of pasta, three Frubes, two Soreen bars and a tomato.
When priced up by the mother herself according to ASDA prices, she found the contents of the package to be £5.22 in total.
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“The private company who have the #FSM contract made good profit here.” she added in a follow-up tweet.
In response to another post – which showed similar food provisions provided to another family – the Wythenshawe-born striker and anti-poverty campaigner tweeted: “3 days of food for 1 family… Just not good enough”, and in a later tweet, he added: “Then imagine we expect the children to engage in learning from home.
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“Not to mention the parents who, at times, have to teach them who probably haven’t eaten at all so their children can…
“We MUST do better. This is 2021.”
Another tweet showcasing an image of £30 worth of food side-by-side to the food parcel – believed to have been provided by food service company Chartwells – has also contributed to the wider conversation, amassing over 70K interactions and comments.
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Chartwells has thus issued a response to the tweets.
The increasing debate generated around the subject has also seen a response come from the Department of Education, who confirmed they are “looking into this”.
The Department for Education said it was also investigating the matter following Rashford’s tweets, adding: “We have clear guidelines and standards for food parcels, which we expect to be followed. Parcels should be nutritious and contain a varied range of food.”
As it stands, the government guidelines for providing free school meals urge schools to work with their catering teams or food provider to provide parcels to eligible pupils who are learning from home.
The guidelines state that the packages should contain food items – as opposed to pre-prepared meals – so parents can make healthy lunches for their children, and it adds that the hampers should not rely on parents having additional ingredients at home and should cater for pupils of all diets.
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Sir Keir Starmer has also responded describing the situation as “a disgrace”.
The Labour leader tweeted: “The images appearing online of woefully inadequate free school meal parcels are a disgrace. Where is the money going?
“This needs sorting immediately so families don’t go hungry through lockdown.”
The footballer forced the government into a U-turn in June over the provision of free school meals for children during the summer holidays, and it followed a relentless social media campaign, which helped earn him a number of prestigious accolades – including and MBE – last year.
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He forced the government’s hand once again in the autumn on expanding the free school meals programme through subsequent school holidays after his second plea was initially turned down, and the package included a £170 million COVID winter grant scheme to support vulnerable families in England and an extension of the holiday activities and food programme to the Easter, summer and Christmas breaks this year.
But as Rashford says himself, the fight still isn’t over, and he will continue to “aim for an equal playing field for all in 2021”.
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Police officer who sexually assaulted a child while on duty sacked
Daisy Jackson
A ‘morally reprehensible’ police officer who sexually assaulted a child while on duty has been sacked and barred from service.
GMP held an accelerated misconduct hearing with PC Dean Dempster, 35, and he has been dismissed without notice.
The disgraced officer admitted ‘sexually touching’ the six-year-old child in December 2023 and is set to be sentenced at a later date.
He was a response officer in Oldham at the time that the offence was reported, and was arrested by a supervisor when he returned to work the next day.
A senior officer has now said that Dempster ‘has no right to be in police uniform or in a position to serve the public’.
Another said it was ‘among the most distressing cases ever presented’ and a ‘despicable betrayal’ of police duties.
Dempster was convicted of sexually assaulting a young girl while responding to an incident on 29 December 2023.
He was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court in February and remained suspended since being charged at the end of last year.
Presiding over today’s hearing, CC Watson found PC Dempster’s conduct amounted to gross misconduct, saying: “This sexual assault occurred whilst the officer was on duty and where the victim was totally trusting and reliant on him performing his duties professionally, compassionately and with her welfare uppermost in his thoughts.
“It is this most egregious breach of trust of an innocent young child that is most upsetting aspect of this case and something that clearly amounts to an aggravating factor.
“I consider this case to be among the most distressing ever presented to me such is the despicable betrayal of all that is inherent in being a decent police officer.
“I have no hesitation whatsoever in dismissing PC Dempster from the service with immediate effect.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Allen, head of GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate, said: “Dean Dempster is not a police officer, he’s a child sex offender who has no right to be in police uniform or in a position to serve the public.
“We have no time for people like Dempster who should not be in GMP and does not represent us.
“This is why we’re increasingly using accelerated misconduct hearings to root out and boot out officers who are unfit to serve in our uniform, and this work will continue while ever they remain.”
Dempster has been added to the College of Policing Barred List by Chief Constable Stephen Watson, who described Dempster’s actions as ‘morally reprehensible’.
GMP used accelerated proceedings as part of its pledge to ‘root and boot’ officers unfit to serve the public.
The force is now writing to the Deputy Mayor of GM to appeal for Dempster to lose his right to a police pension.
Manchester City reveals details around the first Andy’s Man Club sessions at the Etihad Stadium
Danny Jones
Manchester City have released the first details surrounding their inaugural Andy’s Man Club sessions at the Etihad Campus.
One of the most important charities in the UK when it comes to male mental health and suicide prevention, Andy’s Man Club and even its logo alone have become a recognisable force for good over the past few years, and the significance of bringing it to such a big scale as City cannot be overstated.
The football club first announced the partnership back in February and has already been working closely with the non-profit organisation to promote better wellbeing amongst men, getting first-team stars such as defender John Stones to open up about his own experiences with mental health just last month.
With that in mind, the word is now out that Man City will be providing yet another location for groups to meet and crucially talk through Andy’s Man Club sessions, confirming details around their first meeting from next week onwards.
Set to kick off in the East Stand of the Etihad Stadium from 7-9pm on Monday, 13 May, Man City will not only help deliver a vital outlet for men in the East Manchester area but become just the latest in a long line of teams to back the regular support group.
Joining over 180 clubs nationwide – including the likes of Altrincham FC, Ashton United and Bolton Wanderers, just to name a few in the Greater Manchester area – Andy’s Mans Club is currently helping well over 4,000 men open up and combat their struggles through peer-to-peer sessions.
Founded by a group of nine blokes from Halifax back in 2016 to create positive change in men’s mental health, Andy’s Man Club now helps gather men aged 18 and over across the country every week throughout the year.
In alignment with other partnered clubs Andy’s Man Clubs across the country, attendees will be asked to arrive from 18:30 (UK) ahead of the 19:00 start time.
The sessions are free with registration or ID required and, more importantly, there’s no pressure to talk if you don’t want to. The first step is easy: just listen.
Just because it’s being held at City’s ground doesn’t mean you have to be a season ticket holder, have an official Cityzens membership to attend or anything like that, you can simply arrive via the East Stand reception (Door F) and join the session.
Attendees will be greeted on arrival by trained volunteers from Andy’s Man Club who will guide them through the stadium. With the club now on board, group sessions will be running at the same time every week (except bank holiday Mondays) with the first dates scheduled for the following nights this month:
Monday 13 May
Monday 20 May
Monday 3 June
Monday 10 June
Well done to all those involved in bringing Andy’s Man Club to Manchester City and the East Manchester community. We hope the sessions will help those going along as they have done for thousands of others.