Marcus Rashford’s campaign for an extension of free school meals for kids succeeds.

Marcus Rashford said “look at what we can do when we come together” after his campaign to extend the children’s food voucher scheme into the summer holidays led to a British Government U-turn.
Rashford wrote an open letter to MPs this week urging the Government to reverse its decision not to award free school meals vouchers in England – for which nearly 1.3 million children are eligible – outside of term time.

The Manchester United and England forward followed that up with an impassioned article in The Times on Tuesday, detailing his experience of growing up using food banks and receiving free meals as a child.

And the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Owing to the coronavirus pandemic the Prime Minister fully understands that children and parents face an entirely unprecedented situation over the summer.
“To reflect this we will be providing a Covid Summer Food Fund. This will provide food vouchers covering the six-week holiday period. This is a specific measure to reflect the unique circumstances of the pandemic.
“The scheme will not continue beyond the summer and those eligible will be those who already qualify for free school meals.”
Reacting to the news, Rashford wrote on Twitter: “I don’t even know what to say. Just look at what we can do when we come together, THIS is England in 2020.”
The cost will come to £120 million in additional funding, Downing Street said.

Referring to Rashford,  Prime Minister’s spokesperson added: “The PM welcomes his contribution to the debate around poverty and respects the fact that he has been using his profile as a leading sportsman to highlight important issues.”
Former England striker Gary Lineker responded to Rashford’s successful campaign by tweeting “Well played. Marcus. Well played.”
Rashford, who has raised £20million to boost food distribution with the charity FareShare, has garnered significant media interest with his campaign.

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