FILLS YOU WITH PRIDE
Britain’s kindhearts offer free food to needy school kids.. and shame the 322 well-fed MPs who said no to helping hard-up families
MARCUS Rashford told of his pride as Brits pulled together to feed hungry kids after the Tories refused to.
The England and Manchester United striker highlighted the offers of free food for our poorest children from cafes, pubs, local authorities and food charities.
It piled pressure on Boris Johnson after more than 300 Tory MPs blocked a motion to extend free school meals outside term-time for over 1.4 million deprived children up to next Easter.
Rashford, 22, told his 3.6 million Twitter
followers: “Blown away by news of local businesses stepping up to fill the voucher scheme deficit during the October half term. Selflessness, kindness, togetherness, this is the England I know.”
Scores of businesses joined the outpouring of generosity as the pandemic threatens to bring more hardship for struggling families this winter.
Among them was the Courtyard cafe in Wigan, Greater Manchester, which said it would offer free meals to children who need them this half term.
In Keynsham near Bristol, the Crown
Inn also joined the initiative. Greengrocers Warren O’Connor and Andy Aston of Northwood, North West London, will hand out free fruit and veg to any child entitled to free school meals.
The Pudding Pantry in Nottingham will hand out sandwich boxes to hungry kids, and lunch bags will be given out by the Castle Beach Cafe in Falmouth, Cornwall.
Portofino restaurant in Harrogate, North Yorks, will give out food boxes.
The Co-op will provide vouchers for more than 5,000 pupils. Boss Steve Murrells said: “We simply cannot let any
child go hungry as a result of this pandemic.” McDonald’s joined forces with food charity FareShare – which is supported by Rashford – to provide a million meals for families in need.
Labour MP Lucy Powell said the Government “should be ashamed” that businesses were having to step in where it had failed to help.
She added: “Where Boris Johnson has turned his back on more than one million children and their families, it is fantastic to see businesses helping out, at a time when so many of them
face significant financial challenges.” But No10 refused three times to praise businesses for stepping in.
Extending free school meals into the holidays would cost an estimated £20million per week of holiday.
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said the council would spend £300,000 to offer meal vouchers to 20,000 kids over half term. He said: “I am not prepared to stand by and watch when I know families out there are really struggling, week in, week out.”
Birmingham also stepped up, as
Conservative West Midlands Mayor Andy Street broke ranks to slam the Government’s decision-making. He said: “It should not be a last-minute thing, this should be planned for, there should be a national approach.”
Wigan and Oldham in Greater Manchester will also fund lunches over half term, as will local authorities in London, including Conservativerun Kensington and Chelsea and the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
A Tory MP was at the centre of a storm after suggesting some free
school meal vouchers were spent in crack dens and brothels.
Mansfield MP Ben Bradley tweeted his opposition to Rashford’s campaign, which he voted against.
Explaining his reasons, he said: “At one school in Mansfield 75% of kids have a social worker, 25% of parents are illiterate. terate. Their estate is the centre re of the area’s crime. One kid lives ves in a crack den, another in n a brothel. These are the kids ds that most STORM Tory MP Ben Bradley
need our help, extending free school meals doesn’t reach these kids.” A Twitter user replied: “£20 cash direct to a crack den and brothel really sounds like the way forward with this one…” Mr Bradley replied: “That That’s s what wh FSM vouchers in the summer effectively did…” Rash Rashford’s campaign has gone viral on Twitter, generating 80,000 tweets in a single hour.