Food firm Chartwells has been under fire today for providing “unacceptable” free school meal hampers, which according to one social media user contained just £5.22 worth of food for 10 days – significantly less than the £30 value advertised. The firm’s CEO Charlie Brown claims it was actually 5 days of free school lunches (not 10 days) and the charge for food, packing and distribution was £10.50 not £30 as suggested. Either way the nation’s self-appointed food poverty czar has been on their case all day, holding a phone call with the Department for Education trying to “fix” the situation. Guido wonders why Rashford didn’t call Chartwells himself, after all they are a member of Rashford’s own Child Food Poverty Taskforce…

Last month, the footballer welcomed the company’s addition to his Child Food Poverty taskforce with open arms:

Welcome @Chartwells_UK https://t.co/NIwas0t5Qs

— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) December 10, 2020

And despite the day’s controversy, their logo continues to appear prominently next to Marcus’s on the pressure group’s website:

According to Compass Group, Chartwells was also the “first school caterer to join Child Food Poverty Taskforce”, supporting the taskforce to expand free school meals to every child and holiday provision to 1.1 million children, with Chartwells’ Charlie Brown (him again) commenting:

“Marcus Rashford’s campaign shines a much-needed spotlight on the issue of child food poverty. We know how important nutritious food is to educational attainment, and that food provision is a real struggle for some families, so we fully support widening access to free school meals.”

Surely Rashford’s own Child Food Poverty Taskforce’s suppliers can’t be at fault…