A RESTAURANT has vowed to deliver free school meals to 1500 children a week after Government packages for struggling families were blasted as “meagre scraps”.

Ramen and Chill has set up a fundraising page as it spearheads the “free school meals” to support families who may be struggling in lockdown.

The Westcliff restaurant helped children back in October when bosses first offered free packed lunches for children.

Southend food writer Jack Monroe called the Government’s packages of food “offensively meagre scraps” this week, after parents posted photos on social media of the poor offerings.

Now Ashley Baker, owner of Ramen and Chill, in Hamlet Court Road, has set up a gofundme page to make sure families get lunch packages every two days.

He said: “It came out this week about the food packages for families and children in need that there’s not a great deal of food that’s going out and some of the vouchers going out people can’t redeem. It’s been a real big mess.

“What we’ve done is started a gofundme page. When we did this back in October people were bringing produce in but where we’re in a third lockdown we don’t want people putting themselves at risk going out to the shops so instead people are donating and we’re going out to buy the produce.

“We’ve taken our own initiative to support children in the area because at the end of the day they don’t have a voice so we’re here for them.”

Ramen and Chill will either send out packed lunches every two days or offer food boxes depending on the size of the families in need.

Today, they have a post going out on their Facebook and Instagram which will have a link to Whatsapp where people can send over their details.

The restaurant is in talks with the council and it is hoped to use the restaurant as a community food hub.

Ashley added: “Our restaurant is sitting there empty at the moment. We’ve got a kitchen full of equipment so we’ll just do what we can for people.

“We’re hoping to turn the restaurant into a community food hub and we’re hoping to get linked up with some charities where we will get lists of people who need the food.

“The last time we helped 1000 children over the one week period. We’re hoping to do more than 1000-1500 a week so the more people keep donating the longer we can do this for.

It’s going to help the families out. It’s a rough time and it takes a little bit of ease and pressure off. It’s a worrying time and the last thing people need to worry about is food. It’s 2021.”

Also available to help struggling families is the Food on Our Doorstep scheme which operates at six of the children centre’s in Southend.

Family Action run the scheme at Hamstel, Prince Avenue, Blenheim, Centre Place, Friars and Summercourt children centres.

Families pay a nominal membership fee of £1 and can then buy food valued at between £10-15 for just £3.50.

Lorraine Wood, Food on Our Doorstep co-ordinator for Southend, said: “What it’s designed to do is help families to release some of their money struggles if they’re perhaps struggling on a pound to pound basis to make ends meet.

“We have the situation where some people have been using food banks. A lot of people are maybe embarrassed and don’t want to be in that situation but aren’t quite yet at the point where they’ve got enough money to go to mainstream supermarkets so this scheme also has the added benefit of being that intermediary step.”