At a school in West Bromwich, a van pulls up unloading boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables. It’s not a normal supermarket delivery.
At this school, so many of the pupils were going hungry that it’s supplied by a foodbank.
More than half of the pupils at Sandwell Valley School should be eligible for a free meal, but because of benefit delays – including problems with Universal Credit and children waiting for asylum claims – the school only gets funding for around one in 10.
Teachers decided they couldn’t bear to see hungry children watching other kids eat any more. Support from the foodbank means some children receive free school meals, while food is heavily subsidised for others.
“I pay £2 towards my school dinners a week,” Brian, one of the pupils tells us at lunchtime. “It’s a very good idea. With a good meal, we absorb more information during lessons because we have food in our stomachs. It’s nice because you can bond with other students while eating. I really enjoy the patties.”
Attiya in Year 10 says the scheme has changed how she learns. “Having a good lunchtime meal has improved my confidence,” says the 14-year-old.
“I am more alert in lessons and I’m not afraid to answer a question or read in front of the class. My favourite meal is the tomato pasta.”
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Parent Emma Withey says it’s a brilliant idea. “It is a massive help financially for me. I don’t know what I would do otherwise,” she admits.
The Salma Food Bank delivers fresh fruit, vegetables and other food three times a week, and the freezer is kept topped up by local employer Cleone Foods, using food that would otherwise be wasted.
With the supplies, school chef Rachel Osei Appau makes pasta, veggie curry, egg-fried rice and biryani. Today, the children also have watermelon and ice cream for dessert.
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“We set up the free school meal and reducing food waste initiative so we can make sure our children can eat,” says the school’s principal Mim Hall.
“Meals are free for many children, and the rest are heavily subsidised – parents pay £3 for the week or whatever they can afford.
“Since we started offering free school meals, we have noticed a vast improvement in the pupils’ concentration.
“We are also trying to tackle food waste as well as make sure our pupils are not going hungry. The Food Bank supplies the school with perishable foods such as vegetables and fruit, which would normally go to waste.
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“The food delivered by Cleone Foods is produce which can’t be sold in supermarkets because the packaging is damaged.”
Sandwell Valley is a unique school, founded in 2016 to support pupils struggling on the margins of the state education system. It is independent, but funded socially through charities and local companies.
The foodbank, based in Smethwick, was set up in 2016 by Imran Hameed, in memory of his late mother Salma Parveen.
The youngest of five siblings, he was just 16 when his mother passed away. “When I asked my father what my mother was like,” Imran, 39, says. “He replied, ‘ask the neighbour’.
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“Mrs Linton said my mother went round to her house with food and to have a chat and although she couldn’t understand Mrs Linton, because Mum’s English wasn’t great, Mum would put her thumbs up.
Mrs Linton said, ‘Your mum was like my sister’. My mother would integrate with everyone regardless of their background.”
Imran and his wife Amna founded the Salma Food Bank, delivering food directly to those in need within three hours.
Over the last three years, volunteers have delivered food parcels to 40,000 people across the West Midlands using 135 volunteer drivers.
Imran is also the founder of Bearded Broz, a local community group that helped clean the streets after the Birmingham bin strikes and helped families at Grenfell Tower.
“Over the last few years, we have helped some lovely people from all different backgrounds,” he said.
“I didn’t think poverty happened in England, I used to just think it happened in Africa or Pakistan – I didn’t know it was happening down the road. Over the years I have seen people rummaging in bins to eat and I’ve delivered food to people living in tents.”
Now his foodbank is supplying a secondary school, in 2019, in Britain, the sixth richest country in the world.
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