Footballer Tackles Holiday Hunger The coronavirus situation has become an economic crisis as well as a health and social crisis. Food poverty among families has increased, with many children going hungry every day. About 1.3 million children in England will be able to make use of the Government’s Covid Summer Food Fund – children who are normally entitled to free school meals, and those whose parents have become newly eligible to claim during the pandemic. Manchester United and England footballer (and local hero) Marcus Rashford grew up in Wythenshawe. In June, he successfully campaigned to get the Covid School Meal Voucher Scheme extended so that it would run through the school summer holidays. In an open letter to MPs, Marcus said: “Understand: without the kindness and generosity of the community I had around me, there wouldn’t be the Marcus Rashford you see today: a 22-year old black man lucky enough to make a career playing a game I love. “My story to get here is all-too-familiar for families in England: my mum worked full-time, earning minimum wage to make sure we always had a good evening meal on the table. But it was not enough. The system was not built for families like mine
to succeed, regardless of how hard my mum worked. As a family, we relied on breakfast clubs, free school meals, and the kind actions of neighbours and coaches. Food banks and soup kitchens were not alien to us; I recall very clearly our visits to Northern Moor to collect our Christmas dinners every year. This is not about politics; this is about humanity. Looking at ourselves in the mirror and feeling like we did everything we could to protect those who can’t, for whatever reason or circumstance, protect themselves. Political affiliations aside, can we not all agree that no child should be going to bed hungry?” Under current arrangements, schools must either arrange for meals or food parcels to be delivered to eligible families, or issue supermarket vouchers worth £15 per child per week. You can check if you’re eligible to claim here: www.gov.uk/apply-free-school-meals Meanwhile, local food banks are also reporting an enormous rise in demand and donations of food. To find a food bank near you go to www.trusselltrust.org Marcus supports FareShare, a charity that redistributes surplus food to charities, who turn it into meals www.fareshare.org.uk Image @MarcusRashford on Twitter