Man U star’s letter spurs reversal on meal program
Striker Rashford moves British PM to reverse decision
A letter written by a 22-year-old Manchester United striker is being hailed as the driving force behind British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s reversal of a decision to end a meal-voucher program for 1.3 million needy students once the school year ends. On Tuesday, the British government announced the program would continue for six weeks over the summer break, with Johnson praising Marcus Rashford’s “contribution to the debate around poverty.”
Rashford posted the letter, addressed to all members of Parliament, to social media on Sunday. He wrote about his experience growing up in Wythenshawe, an area south of Manchester where the housing projects were described as representing “an extreme pocket of social deprivation and alienation” by the New York Times in 2007, and how he relied upon “breakfast clubs, free school meals, and the kind actions of neighbours and coaches” to get by.
“A a black man from a low-income family in Wythenshawe, Manchester, I could have been just another statistic,” he wrote. “Instead, due to the selfless actions of my mum, my family, my neighbours, and my coaches, the only stats I’m associated with are goals, appearances and caps. I would be doing myself, my family and my community an injustice if I didn’t stand here today with my voice and my platform and ask you for help.”
Rashford’s letter drew widespread support, including from members of Johnson’s Conservative party. Robert Halfon, a Conservative member of Parliament, said the meal voucher program “is not a lot of extra money ... but it’s simple, it works and the public understand it.”
The food voucher plan was set up in March to ensure that low-income students didn’t go hungry as the country shut down amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. Johnson’s original plan was to let the program expire at the end of the school year, but he reversed course on Tuesday and announced that the program would be funded over the summer at a cost of around $152 million.
James Slack, a spokesman for Johnson, said “the prime minister fully understands that children and parents face an entirely unprecedented situation.”
Rashford expressed his pleasure with the news Tuesday on Twitter.
Johnson has been criticized for the British government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed more than 41,000 lives in the U.K., the highest total in Europe and the third highest in the world. On Monday, non-essential businesses in England reopened with restrictions for the first time since March, drawing long lines of shoppers despite worries that opening up the country could cause coronavirus infections to increase.
The English Premier League will resume play on Wednesday in empty stadiums after play was halted in March. Rashford has been out since mid-january with a back injury but is expected to return for Manchester United’s first match on Friday at Tottenham Hotspur.