The food parcels being delivered to families whose children normally receive free school meals have been making the headlines during January, but we are please to say that Haygrove School has had lots of positive feedback from parents about the range and quality of food they are receiving each week and how important the supplies are to family life.
One parent commented, whilst collecting their food box from the school, “These food parcels are so important to my family. I live on my own with my children and we are so grateful for anything, and it’s a bonus that the kids love the yoghurts!” Another said, “I think there is a nice mix of healthy foods in the box. I am just grateful for the support to keep my kids fed and the cupboards stocked up with essential items for them.”
Following the Government’s initial guidance and stated preference for families to receive food parcels, Haygrove School worked with their partner primary schools to set up the service which has been running since the start of January.
“We have around 50 students attending school each day during this period of lockdown and therefore need to keep the Haygrove School kitchens open to provide a food for them if they need it. It made sense therefore, to use the kitchen’s resources and staff to make up healthy food boxes for children learning from home who qualify for free school meals. Aspens, who are our catering supplier have committed to providing this service at cost; they are not making any profit from the food parcels, “ said Mrs Tracy Lee, Business and Finance Manager for the Quantock Education Trust.
The Trust provides around 90 food parcels each week to its secondary-age students at Haygrove School and around another 20 boxes to pupils at its primary schools in Spaxton and Stogursey. A typical food box to provide lunches for one child on each school day contains 2 jacket potatoes, 6 eggs, 200gm cheese, 2 pints of milk, a tin of beans and a tin of tuna, 150gm ham, 200gm pasta, a tin to tomatoes, a loaf of bread, half a cucumber, 2 fruit yogurts, 2 pieces of cake and 5 pieces of fruit. The Government’s decision to increase the funding for free school meals (up from £13 per week to £15 per child) has enabled the school to add items to the box to increase the selection and choice.
