Furious parents have branded their children’s school meal ‘shocking and disgusting’ and claimed they are paying ‘£30 a week for them to be fed next to nothing’.
The outraged started after one mother shared pictures of the ‘awful’ food being served at the Hummersknott Academy in Darlington online with one parent claiming she fed higher standards for ‘her dog.’
Included on the menu was a dry looking chicken burger, a fossilised sausage roll and a burnt cheese and bacon panini.
The furious mother said: ‘I wanted to get others’ opinions on the quality and quantity of food the kids are getting because this is costing me a fortune and she’s still starving when she gets home!’
The pictures have sparked a flurry of comments and complaints from frustrated parents, including one mother, who spends around £20 to £30 a week on school dinners for her son.
Has your children’s school been serving bad school dinners? Email john.james@mailonline.co.uk
Furious parents have branded their children’s school meal as ‘shocking and disgusting’ (Pictured: A sausage roll on display)
Parents said the meals were completely un-nutritional (Pictured: the school’s plain chicken burger)
She said: ‘My son has always come home every day from school and said he is starving. I never understood why and always just thought he was being greedy or dramatic because surely, I don’t pay that much a month for him to be fed next to nothing.
‘Children need food. How are they going to manage to concentrate in class when they are hungry. It just means they are not at their best learning capabilities; no child should be at such a disadvantage to be able to get a substantial meal.’
What shocked her the most, she said was that her son considered the images of the food as ‘the better options’ available at school.
She added: ‘If we as adults got fed that food in any establishment it would not be acceptable, so I don’t know why we allow this and still have to pay for food like that.’
Several parents have also commented saying their children had received mouldy food.
One mother recalled that her child was given a mouldy brownie on the first day back at school.
Another mum commented: ‘That all looks dire! Where’s the healthy options? Where’s the salad in the burger? Awful. Schools bang on about healthy lifestyles and healthy food choices yet serve this!’
Other parents claimed they would serve better food to their dogs (Pictured: a burnt cheese and ham panini)
The school has apologised and cited supplier issues (Pictured: a beef burger)
One more said: ‘Looks very poor, it’s not hard to make nice food. Not much love going into any of that food.’
The school has now acknowledged and accepted that an incident did occur with a supplier causing the issues to the school dinners but believes a high standard is maintained overall.
James Keating, Executive Principal at Hummersknott Academy, said: ‘Catering at Hummersknott Academy is delivered by our in-house teams and we are confident that, overall, a high standard is maintained.
‘However, there was an isolated issue with a supplier at the beginning of the school year that was rectified immediately.
‘As in every other aspect of school life at Hummersknott Academy, we are always looking at ways to improve and we place great importance on feedback from pupils and parents as part of that process. As a result of those regular discussions, we are extending our catering offer to include fresh made-to-order sandwiches and salads, plus a new hot food offer.’
While the school administration assures parents that improvements are underway, the controversy continues to fuel frustration among families who believe the school should have ensured better meal quality from the outset.
The furore is the latest example this year of parents being outraged by the shoddy meals their children are being served in schools.
In March, parents of pupils at a top independent school have slammed the ‘utterly unacceptable’ quality of their catering.
Around 200 parents are calling for urgent changes to be made at Withington Girls School in Manchester after grim photos emerged of the food being given to pupils aged between seven and 18.
These include a roast meal which includes a small slice of turkey and two potatoes and a very small portion of sausage and mash.
Also pictured are potato wedges and what appears to be a chicken curry. It is understood they are produced by Holroyd Howe which holds the catering contract for the school.
MailOnline was told that parents have been complaining to the school, which charges £11,910 per year, about the ‘poor food quality for years.’
Roast turkey served with just two potatoes at Withington Girls School
Sausage and mash served at Withington Girls School
Photos of what appears to be a chicken curry served at Withington Girls School
The same month a headteacher issued an apology to parents for poor quality school dinners served to pupils.
Jason Ashley, head of Redbridge Community School in Southampton, criticised catering company Chartwells who hold the school’s catering contract.
In a letter to parents, Mr Ashley shared photos of the food which is also being served to staff. Dishes include chips and beans and a tuna jacket potato.
He said if the food had been served to his own children, he would be ‘exceptionally unhappy’.
The former Ofsted inspector also said portion sizes had ‘gotten smaller in recent times’ whilst ‘prices have increased.’
Chips and beans served at Redbridge Community School
Pie and mash served at Redbridge Community School
Photos of what appears to be a veggie burger served at Redbridge Community School
Jason Ashley, head of Redbridge Community School in Southampton (pictured), wrote the letter to parents
Highlighting one example, Mr Ashley went on: ‘For example, recently it was British ‘pie week’ and the pie served was of extremely poor quality when compared to our partner schools.’
The letter, dated March 12, added: ‘As the headteacher, you will often hear me say ‘if it’s good enough for my own children, it has to be good enough for yours.’
‘Frankly, the food that is served in the canteen is completely unacceptable, so much so, that if my own children’s school served this I would be exceptionally unhappy.
‘Unfortunately, Redbridge Community School has no control over the private company Chartwells.
‘This company provides the catering contract for the school. Myself and Mrs Wall-Bradfield have been in numerous meetings (the most recent this morning) and I am simply fed up with the lack of progress being made.
Roast meal served at Redbridge Community School
Roast turkey dinner which is made by Chartwells staff working at Redbridge Community Staff
Mr Ashley questioned if the catering company could make a jacket potato. Pictured: Tuna jacket
‘We have concluded with our photo evidence that Chartwells do seem to be unable to ‘bake a potato’ correctly.’
The headteacher continued in the letter: ‘Moreover, for many of our students, a school meal is so important to them but I can no longer tolerate, provide reasons or even justify to you the unacceptable nature of the food.’
He appealed to parents for their comments about the food, saying: ‘Now, I could be completely wrong, misguided, fussy, difficult or on a different planet; so I will leave you to decide with a selection of photos taken (and this is served to staff) for you to make up your own mind.
‘Therefore, I hope that you are as angry and as disappointed as me. For those of you that pay from your hard-earned wages – I can only apologise and I am sorry. However, nothing I seem to do or say makes any difference and I feel you have the right to know.
‘Finally, I keep asking myself ‘how difficult is it to bake a potato’? Answers or a postcard to head@redbridgeschool.co.uk.
‘Wishing you all the very best and I sincerely apologise for this failing.’
