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Mum Calls For Action After Receiving Free School Meals Box Full Of Mould

Joanna Freedman

Published 
| Last updated 

Mum Calls For Action After Receiving Free School Meals Box Full Of Mould

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

School meal provider, Chartwells, has come under fire again - this time for a box of food filled with mould.

Kerry Elson, 29, said the food that she received was unacceptable, adding that the catering company - enlisted as part of the 'free school meals' programme, by the government - provided food that was completely inedible.

The full-time mum, who has four children: Kody, 13, Jenson, nine, Darcey, six, and Kingsley, one, said: "It was really bad, there was some perishable food like a small bag of pasta and that was fine - but the rest was inedible.

The vegetables, which themum says are from Chartwells, were mouldy (Credit: SWNS)
The vegetables, which themum says are from Chartwells, were mouldy (Credit: SWNS)
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"There was potatoes and they were sprouting and squidgy, they were the worst.The tomatoes had mould on them and the onions did too.

"The bananas were brown, they were gone - and the pears were so soft I could put my finger through them."

It comes after the firm apologised last month following criticism from school-meals advocate, Marcus Rashford.

However, Kerry said that the food delivered to her in Yatton, Somerset, was still no better in quality, adding that it was getting worse week on week.

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Kerry shared pictures of the fruit and veg online (Credit: SWNS)
Kerry shared pictures of the fruit and veg online (Credit: SWNS)

The frustrated mum has now set up a Facebook support page so that parents who rely on school meals can all come together and share their experiences.

"We set this up because we felt so passionately that if we are suffering, other parents are suffering, and is it fair that parents have to choose between feeding their children rotten food or not feeding them at all?," she explained.

"It's completely unacceptable, I would not feed this to any of my children."

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She added: "Chartwells seem to reckon they are improving, but Christ - I dread to think what it was like before."

Mum Kerry said Chartwells provided the mouldy food that was 'inedible' (Credit:SWNS)
Mum Kerry said Chartwells provided the mouldy food that was 'inedible' (Credit:SWNS)

A spokesperson for Chartwells said: "Unfortunately it is impossible to tell whether the pictures provided are from one of our parcels.

"It is important to stress that if a parent is ever unhappy with what they receive they can call our helpline and receive a replacement parcel within 24 hours.

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"We have substantially enhanced our lunch parcels in the last three weeks, and are also providing free breakfast too.

"We have supplied over 30,000 parcels in the last two weeks and have been receiving lots of positive feedback from parents."

Topics: News, Life, Coronavirus

Joanna Freedman
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