More than 10,000 hungry children given free meals on first day of half term
Businesses and community groups have stepped in to feed children over the half-term after the Government refused.
More than 10,000 meals were delivered to vulnerable families on the first day of half term following a campaign spearheaded by footballer Marcus Rashford.
The England and Manchester United player vowed not to give up the fight to end child hunger after Tory MPs voted down his plans to extend free school meals into the holidays.
The voucher scheme would have kept more than one million children fed through the half-term and winter break.
After the motion was defeated, over one thousand organisations across the country said they would step in and plug the gap.
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An interactive map, put together by All Of Us Together UK, has marked out every cafe, restaurant, charity and council that has come forward to offer meals over the October half-term break.
Rashford, 22, spent the weekend sharing messages from local businesses which have pledged to support his campaign and on Monday asked them to state how many meals they had provided.
He wrote: ‘Calling all incredible local businesses… Out of curiosity, how many complimentary Children’s meals have each of you supplied today? Day 1 of Half Term. Can you let me know number and where you are located.’
Replies to the tweet reveal that more than 10,000 food packages were supplied yesterday alone.
The figure is rising continuously as more people respond – many with pledges to keep up the good work for the rest of the week.
Boris Johnson yesterday defended his refusal to extend free school meals for children in England, saying he was ‘very proud’ of the Government’s support so far.
He insisted that the ‘best way of tackling holiday hunger’ was to boost Universal Credit, which has increased by £20 a week, amid pressure to rethink the issue.
The Government extended free school meals to eligible children during the Easter holidays and did the same for the summer holiday after Rashford’s campaigning.
But it has refused to do so again, with the Labour motion last Wednesday getting thwarted by 322 votes to 261.
Several Conservativeshave come under fire for their comments in the wake of the vote, which triggered a public outcry.
Pubs, cafes and restaurants across England have banned their local Tory MPs as the fall-out from the free school meals vote continues.
Although the PM has stuck by his refusal to extend the voucher scheme, he has hinted a cash boost may come in other ways as many families prepare for a difficult winter under tier three coronavirus restrictions.
Speaking during a visit to a hospital in Reading on Monday he said: ‘We don’t want to see children going hungry this winter, this Christmas, certainly not as a result of any inattention by this government – and you are not going to see that.
‘We will do everything in our power to make sure that no kid, no child goes hungry this winter during the holidays.
‘That’s obviously something we care about very much.
‘I totally understand the issue of holiday hunger. It is there – we have to deal with it.
‘The debate is: how do you deal with it? We are very proud of the support we have given.
‘We support the local councils – indeed we fund the local councils and many of the organisations that are helping in this period – but we are also uplifting Universal Credit by £1,000 and we think that is one of the best ways you can help families in this tough time.’
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