Thousands of food parcels are being delivered every week to schoolchildren in south Cumbria.

Since January, Orian has been working with Cumbrian schools, including Newbarns Primary and Nursery School and St Pius X Catholic Primary School, to provide essential food parcels to their pupils.

Following widespread criticism of Edenred’s national voucher scheme last year, the Department for Education (DfE) permitted schools to use central funds to organise voucher plans with nearby shops or to arrange food parcels for students.

These two options were made available again this month against after primary and secondary schools in England were forced to close due to a third national lockdown, but have remained open to vulnerable pupils or children of key workers.

In response to this, Orian has since teamed up with schools in Barrow.

Len Irvine, Orian’s foodservice account manager for south Cumbria and Greater Manchester, has revealed that their food parcels have been hugely welcomed by recipients.

“Since mid-January we have been providing five-day food parcels for schoolchildren,” Len began.

“We have stuck to the government guidelines throughout and made sure every parcel contains all the necessary nutrition.

“The feedback we have received from the schools has been absolutely brilliant.

“They are very happy with what we’re delivering on a daily basis.

“I think what’s really helped is that schools have realised that we are their partners, not providers, and are really appreciating our help.”

In each parcel, there is at least one litre of milk, a loaf of bread, 500 grams of pasta, five pieces of fresh fruit as well as many other essential and nutritious items.

Furthermore, Orian are now offering a hot menu for schoolchildren as part of a free meal.

This has also been extended to teaching staff at their partnered schools too until the half-term.