TWENTY-TWO-year-old Manchester United and England striker Marcus Rashford made a public plea to the government to ensure that schoolchildren have access to free school meals over the summer holidays.



During the Covid-19 crisis, Rashford has been working with FareShare — the UK’s largest hunger and food waste charity. Rashford’s campaign with FareShare has raised over £20 million to provide food for children who ordinarily would receive free school meals but who are in danger of going hungry during lockdown. 

The project has been extremely successful and has gathered support from major supermarkets — including Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and the Co-op. Rashford’s campaign started in Greater Manchester and has become a national initiative — reaching three million children across the country.

Though schemes are in place to provide free school meals vouchers during lockdown, there was no government guarantee that this will extend over the summer holidays when schools would ordinarily be closed. 

However, Rashford has quite rightly pointed out that these are extraordinary times and require extraordinary measures.


Rashford wrote an extremely thoughtful open letter to MPs, in which he articulated his plea to extend free school meal provision with heartfelt sincerity.



“As many of you know, as lockdown hit and schools were temporarily closed, I partnered with food distribution charity FareShare to help cover some of the free school meal deficit.

“While the campaign is currently distributing three million meals a week to those most vulnerable across the UK, I recognise it’s just not enough.

“This is not about politics; this is about humanity. Looking at ourselves in the mirror and feeling like we did everything we could to protect those who can’t, for whatever reason or circumstance, protect themselves. Political affiliations aside, can we not all agree that no child should be going to bed hungry?” Rashford asked.

The footballer goes on to demonstrate perceptive understanding of the economic nature of the crisis and the real-life effect that this has on working class families, informed by his own childhood experiences.



“We rely on parents, many of whom have seen their jobs evaporate due to Covid-19, to play substitute teacher during lockdown, hoping that their children are going to be focused enough to learn, with only a small percentage of their nutritional needs met during this period.

“I have listened when fathers have told me they are struggling with depression, unable to sleep, worried sick about how they are going to support their families having lost their jobs unexpectedly, headteachers who are personally covering the cost of food packages for their vulnerable families after the school debit card has been maxed out; mothers who can’t cover the cost of increased electricity and food bills during the lockdown, and parents who are sacrificing their own meals for their children. In 2020, it shouldn’t be a case of one or the other.

“As a family, we relied on breakfast clubs, free school meals, and the kind actions of neighbours and coaches. Foodbanks and soup kitchens were not alien to us.”


Speaking to Channel 4, he outlined his appreciation of the difficulties that working-class single mothers face. “My mum was a single parent … working very hard to put food on the table … and then the next day, eight o’clock, she gets up, gets on the bus, and starts the day again. And this was every single day to try and feed five kids … she was literally working, trying to sleep, working, trying to sleep.”

His letter to MPs ended with a plea for the government to make a U-turn, pointing out the hypocrisy in taking measures to protect the economy but not to protect the most vulnerable members of our society.

“The government has taken a ‘whatever it takes’ approach to the economy — I’m asking you today to extend that same thinking to protecting all vulnerable children across England. I encourage you to hear their pleas and find your humanity.

“Please reconsider your decision to cancel the food voucher scheme over the summer holiday period and guarantee the extension.

“Please, while the eyes of the nation are on you, make the U-turn and make protecting the lives of some of our most vulnerable a top priority,” Rashford wrote.



Although the young sportsman received widespread public support — including from the National Education Union — Boris Johnson rejected Rashford’s plea. 

The denial was accompanied by a lukewarm statement which offered increased budgets for local authorities, but with no explanation as to how this would give practical support to vulnerable families.



The statement (released by the PM’s assistant rather than Johnson himself) read: “The PM understands the issues facing families across the UK, which is why last week the government announced an additional £63m for local authorities to benefit families who are struggling to afford food and other basic essentials.” 



But, due to mounting public support and Rashford’s unwillingness to give up on vulnerable children, the government on Tuesday were forced to reverse their decision and granted the footballer’s request — less than 24 hours after Rashford’s letter and initial government rejection.

By bringing this important issue to public attention, Rashford’s actions have ensured that 200,000 children in the UK will not go hungry this summer.
 
The National Education Union released a statement supporting Rashford’s achievement.

“There should never have been any hesitation on the part of government. For too many children and young people hunger is an all too familiar part of their daily life.

“It is now time for government to act upon the need to end child poverty, not just for the period of a pandemic but for all time.”


This is the latest in a series of U-turns the government have been forced to make during the crisis, and comes hot on the heels of their failed school reopening plans (which they were forced to drop after significant union and public pressure). 

But we must not be complacent.

 Economic inequality was crippling Britain’s working class long before Covid-19 and it will continue long after it is gone, unless significant political change is made. 

Pre-existing conditions have certainly been exacerbated by the present situation; but we must not forget that the living conditions of the working class have been in decline for decades.

With a Tory Party whose callousness and incompetence has been highlighted during this pandemic, it is crucial that we continue to build on the organising power which has been created in our communities and our workplaces. 

We must harness this collective energy to challenge policies which have left 14.3 million in poverty, including 4.6 million children.

 With many private companies refusing to dip into their profits to retain staff post-lockdown, unemployment and poverty levels are set to skyrocket in the coming months. 

Using the momentum created during this difficult time, we must raise awareness of the wider political issues at play: low pay, precarious work, food poverty, insecure housing, underfunded public services and an inadequate benefits system.



Any good which has been achieved over the past few months is as a direct result of union organising and community initiatives. We, the people, have effected change which has saved lives — despite the government’s best effort to force the working class into the firing line to prioritise the economy.



If the coronavirus crisis has shown us anything, it is that the collective action of a united public can apply significant pressure on the government and force change.



Marcus Rashford’s tweet upon hearing news of the U-turn is as poignant a way to end as any.

“Just look at what we can do when we come together, THIS is England in 2020.”