A BRIDGWATER school has been praised by parents for the range and quality of food in its food parcels.

Staff at Haygrove School have been working hard to deliver the parcels to families whose children normally receive free school meals.

The parcels, which are distributed by the school and paid for the Government, have been well received by parents.

One parent commented, whilst collecting their food box from the school, “These food parcels are so important to my family.

" I live on my own with my children and we are so grateful for anything, and it’s a bonus, the kids love the yoghurts.”

Another parent said, “I think there is a nice mix of healthy foods in the box. I am just grateful for the support to keep my kids fed and the cupboards stocked up with essential items for them.”

After the Government's initial guidance the school worked with their partner primary schools to set up the service which has been running since the start of January.

Tracy Lee, Business and Finance Manager for the Quantock Education Trust, said: “We have around 50 students attending school each day during this period of lockdown and therefore need to keep the Haygrove School kitchens open to provide a food for them if they need it.

"It made sense therefore, to use the kitchen’s resources and staff to make up healthy food boxes for children learning from home who qualify for free school meals.

"Aspens, who are our catering supplier have committed to providing this service at cost; they are not making any profit from the food parcels."

The Trust provides around 90 food parcels each week to its secondary-age students at Haygrove School and around another 20 boxes to pupils at its primary schools in Spaxton and Stogursey.

A typical food box to provide lunches for one child on each school day contains a variety of items including jacket potatoes, eggs, cheese, milk, beans, tuna, ham, pasta,fruit, bread and yogurt.