'Do the right thing': Marcus Rashford's open letter to MPs on food poverty

By Mirror | 4yrs ago | 2 min read

Marcus Rashford has called on the support of the nation to back his battle against the Government over free school meals.

The Man Utd and England striker has been working tirelessly to help raise more than £20million for charity Fare Share, which has provided over three million meals for vulnerable children.

Rashford was at a similar disadvantage as a youngster, and thanks to him children have not had to go hungry during lockdown.

Despite the Government scheme being available to 1.3million children, it no longer extends into the summer holidays - something Rashford is campaigning to change.

He wrote on Twitter on Tuesday: "We are trending no 1 and 2 in England. I need everyone's help to keep this noise going as I head to training, but before I go, to ALL MPs in Parliament, this is not about politics.

"The same way we players put rivalry aside when we put the England shirt on, please #maketheturn."

His campaign is pleading with the Government to reverse their decision to end the provision of school meals over the holidays.

Rashford initially penned a letter to the Government, but his proposal was rejected by the Department of Education (DoE).

A spokesman for the DoE stated that schools will again be able to food for children now that they have reopened, but only during term time.

They pointed to the £63m local authority welfare assistance scheme, which supports the most vulnerable families, as well as the Holiday Activities and Food programme, as means for children to still receive meals throughout the summer.

However, Rashford, 22, was not convinced, and tweeted: "We need to be the voice for those 200,000 children who have no choice but to skip meals today, I refuse to give up."

The forward's efforts have been noticed by MP Grant Shapps, who suggested Rashford could even be in line to meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The Secretary of State for Transport, said: "I see Marcus' letter to MP and it's great to see him get involved in this debate - he talks very passionately about his own experiences as a child.

"The government has already been responding, we put an extra £63m to local authorities to benefit families struggling to buy food, other basic essentials. And this, remember, is a time when ordinarily, there aren't free school meals through the summer period.

"Marcus has written to the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister will be very keen to reply so that will happen. I don't know if they're going to have a conversation or not directly, but we’d certainly welcome it. His [Rashford's] contribution has been terrific to this debate."