Rashford Demands A ‘meal A Day’ For All School Pupils In Need

Marcus Rashford, professional footballer for Manchester United and England, has urged government officials to provide a guaranteed “meal a day” to all financially struggling school children in England. In a recorded video hearing with the Commons petitions committee, Rashford reiterated his call for a review of the free school meals system, asserting that the government was too slow to implement measures during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, and that as a result, too many families were “left with nothing.” Rashford emphasized how crucial it is for children and families to receive assurances that when they experience setbacks, a support system will be available. He asserted that the government should have previously implemented protective measures to assure citizens that they “are not going to hit rock bottom and have no help.”

Although Rashford achieved two of his initial demands of providing meals and activities to low-income families during school holidays and expanding the healthy start voucher scheme, he has called for a full-scale evaluation of the free school meals system. Rashford urged the government to reduce the threshold for free school meals eligibility to ensure that 1.7 million more children from low-income universal credit families receive school meal support. A recent estimate by the Child Poverty Action Group found that two out of five children living below the poverty line are ineligible for free school meals.

During the committee, Rashford responded to inquiries from the Labour MP Catherine McKinnell, the chair of the commons petitions committee, whose public petition garnered more than 1.1 million signatures, leading to the hearing. Rashford voiced confidence that the government would eventually acknowledge the need to change free school meals systems and review it, especially after seeing and interacting closely with the people he has met from all over the country. A live committee hearing will take place on Thursday where poverty charities and the head of the national food strategy, Henry Dimbleby, will offer evidence.

McKinnell urged the government to publicize long-term strategies to address food insecurity and child food poverty.