Two firms handed £200m government contract to deliver food parcels to the vulnerable during lockdown sent boxes containing inedible items at a cost of £44 each - nearly DOUBLE the retail value, analysis reveals

  • Sandy Lucas, 66, from near Wigan, burst into tears after receiving 'dismal' food 
  • She was told to shield for 12 weeks and was forced to get the Government's box 
  • Ms Lucas said she received 72 tins of tomato soup and 'dirty toilet rolls' 

Two private firms paid £200million in taxpayers cash to provide food parcels to the vulnerable during lockdown sent boxes containing inedible items at a cost nearly double the supermarket value, analysis reveals.

Food firms Bidfood and Brakes were given the hefty sum earlier this year in a bid to cater to Brits who were shielding and unable to leave the house or find online food delivery slots.

The free boxes cost taxpayers roughly £44 per package, but many reported receiving parcels containing inedible food, rotting fruit and vegetables' and in one case 'dirty toilet rolls'.   

Some 4.7million of the packages were handed out in total between March 27 and July 31 but the New Statesman calculated the actual cost of each package's contents to be just £26 on average if you compared the contents and delivery to supermarket prices.

An image of the food parcels containing essentials being sent to people across the country

An image of the food parcels containing essentials being sent to people across the country

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick, helps deliver free food boxes to the most clinically vulnerable in Tonbridge, Kent, as the scheme is rolled out across England

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick, helps deliver free food boxes to the most clinically vulnerable in Tonbridge, Kent, as the scheme is rolled out across England

Food firms Bidfood and Brakes were given the hefty sum earlier this year in a bid to cater to Brits who were shielding and unable to leave the house or find online food delivery slots

The free boxes cost taxpayers roughly £44 per package, but many reported receiving parcels containing inedible food

The free boxes cost taxpayers roughly £44 per package, but many reported receiving parcels containing inedible food

Sandy Lucas, 66, from near Wigan, suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and was told by the Government to shield for 12 weeks to protect her from coronavirus. 

She lives alone and usually orders groceries online but was unable to secure a delivery slot or find any food because of panic-buyers.  

Ms Lucas, who has not left her house since lockdown was initiated in March, became increasingly thwarted as she claims she received a dismal box week after week with barely any fresh produce and no eggs or meat. 

One week she even burst into tears upon seeing the mix of wet bread and 'sprouting potatoes' that was delivered to her.  

She told the New Statesman: 'It got to the point where you just didn't want to cook.

'There weren't two things in the box you could put together and make a proper meal.' 

She even received men's toiletries, 'bars of soap the size of a 50 pence piece' and 'loose, crushed and dirty toilet rolls'.  

Up until she stopped receiving the boxes on August 1, Ms Lucas had been given 72 tins of Heinz tomato soup.  

Pictured is an average Government box that was handed to vulnerable people shielding during lockdown

Pictured is an average Government box that was handed to vulnerable people shielding during lockdown 

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick, helps deliver free food boxes to the most clinically vulnerable in Tonbridge, Kent

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick, helps deliver free food boxes to the most clinically vulnerable in Tonbridge, Kent 

She added: 'How soul-destroying is it to get 72 tins of tomato soup?' 

Ms Lucas, who spent years working in the Prison Service and the Manchester Market Police, took it upon herself to write to her MP, the Health Secretary, the Home Secretary and even 10 Downing Street to question who had decided on the contents of her food boxes. No one replied to her. 

She said that she would be fed better in prison. 

What was included in the Government's food boxes?  

Two kilos potatoes

One kilo carrots

Three 30-ounce tins of tomato soup

One 30-ounce tin of baked beans

One tin of chicken meatballs

One tin of mushy peas

One 500g bag of long grain rice

One jar of Bolognese sauce

One 500g packet of spaghetti

Two litres of long life milk

Five apples

Five oranges

One packet of biscuits

One box of Cheerios

Ten tea bags

Ten instant coffee sachets

One frozen loaf of sliced white bread

Two miniature hotel-style shower gels

One miniature soap, the size of a 50p piece

Two loose toilet rolls

Source: The New Statesman 

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Lorraine Smith, a shielding mother in Dover, Kent, revealed she was receiving rotting fruit and vegetables every week. 

At the time a Brakes spokesman admitted to Kent Live that there 'may be the occasional issue with fresh products' because of the 'current season changeover'.  

All costs for the food products have been redacted from the Government's website. 

The New Statesman was refused information on the average price of each individual weekly box by Defra and Brakes.  

A Freedom of Information request from the publication for the costs of certain items in the food boxes was also refused by Defra. The department explained that disclosing the cost would 'prejudice the commercial interests of the supplier's [sic] Brakes and Bidfood' and 'negate Defra's ability to achieve value for money'. 

A spokesperson for Defra told the publication: 'The contract with Brakes and Bidfood delivered more than 4.8million food parcels as part of an unprecedented support package to help our most clinically vulnerable people shield from coronavirus.

'Thorough market analysis and engagement was undertaken before awarding the contract, and the cost of the food boxes was independently assessed and benchmarked to ensure the best use of taxpayer money.' 

Bidfood and Brakes gave a joint statement which read: 'Bidfood and Brakes are both exceptionally proud of the role thousands of colleagues across our networks played in working together with DEFRA, successfully delivering more than five million food packs to the clinically vulnerable who were shielding at home during lockdown.

'The New Statesman article focuses on a very small number of people who were dissatisfied with the service they received. While this is disappointing because of the high standards we set ourselves, it does not reflect the safe and appreciated delivery of millions of shield packages during the lockdown period. 

'In surveys carried out by DEFRA, the service we provided had extremely high levels of satisfaction and both Brakes and Bidfood have received thank you calls, emails, cards and letters from recipients across Britain, expressing their gratitude for the weekly boxes delivered to them.

'While it would not be appropriate to comment on the specifics of the contract, this was the biggest food redistribution relief programme since the Second World War, rapidly mobilised within seven days to provide a vital lifeline to some of the most vulnerable in our society at a time of national crisis.'

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