Parents of children at a Welsh secondary school have blasted the ‘inedible’ school dinners provided to students.
Ysgol Dyffryn Taf in Whitland, Carmarthenshire, has come under fire after images of the school meals being given to children were posted on social media, with angry parents labelling them ‘shocking’.
The initial post, which has now been shared hundreds of times, led to other concerned parents posting similar images taken by their children of the meals they had paid for at school, according to WalesOnline.
Some have claimed their children don’t eat and come home hungry.
‘That’s why my son’s coming home starving. He did mention the food was awful but I never imagined it was this bad,’ one said.
‘Absolutely vile – he’s actually been sick a couple of times in school where I’ve had to pick him up. I’m seriously questioning now whether the food made him ill.’
Images of the school meals being given to children were posted on social media, with parents labelling the quality of the meals ‘inedible’ and ‘shocking’
Parents say their children opt out of eating at school as a result of the poor quality meals
Others say their children opt out of eating at school as a result of the poor quality meals.
Shelley Webb posted the initial images online following complaints about school meals from her daughter.
She claims the quality of food has dipped in recent months, leading to smaller portions and limited choice.
‘Both the quantity and the quality of the food the children get is ridiculous,’ she said. ‘It’s £2.60 for what they call a ‘nutritious main meal’ – it’s basically one sausage, one scoop of mash, some carrots and cranberry sauce.’
One parent, Shelley Webb, claims the quality of food has dipped in recent months, leading to smaller portions and limited choice
Some parents have claimed their children don’t eat at school and snack instead, and come home hungry. One claimed their child may have been made unwell by the food
Parents are calling on the local authority to improve the quality of food at Ysgol Dyffryn Taf in Whitland (pictured)
‘The portion sizes aren’t big enough to feed a four-year-old, never mind teenagers. And my daughter will sometimes just have a snack in school or something like a cookie for lunch; I didn’t know why, but now I do now.’
Shelley is calling on Carmarthenshire Council to take action and improve the quality of food on offer.
‘We as parents wouldn’t mind spending money on school dinners if they were nice and provided a good meal,’ she said.
‘I believe the quality of food is awful and the kids are either not eating or just eating a little bit and then coming home hungry. It’s horrendous and it’s something that needs to be addressed.’
The local authority has said it is now looking into the matter.
Gareth Morgans, the council’s Director of Education and Children’s Services, said: ‘We are investigating these concerns as a matter of urgency now that it has been brought to our attention and would like to reassure parents that arrangements are in place to address this situation.
‘If parents/guardians or pupils have any concerns about the standard of food in Carmarthenshire schools, we would encourage them to contact schoolmeals@carmarthenshire.gov.uk.’
Headteacher of the school, Julian Kennedy, said in a statement: ‘The school is aware of concerns raised by some parents on social media, regarding the quality of food provision at lunchtimes.
‘As you know, Carmarthenshire County Council’s Catering Service runs our dinner hall and is responsible for the break and lunchtime offer.
‘The service has asked that all concerns are directed to CEcontactCentre@carmarthenshire.gov.uk.
‘We will hold discussions with the service to ensure our pupils can access a high quality of provision at break and lunchtime.’
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