UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected a plea from Marcus Rashford, a footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.
Rashford had asked to extend free school meals for 1.3 million children in the country for six weeks through the summer holidays, in order to help keep the children fed.
Continuation of food vouchers
Although Johnson rejected Rashford's plea, he stated that he will instead update Rashford on what the Government is doing to make sure that children in the country are still getting meals.
The 22-year-old footballer helped to supply three million meals in the UK, had raised around £ 20million after partnering up with the charity FareShare during the coronavirus lockdown.
Rashford has petitioned the Government to still provide free meals for children during school holidays. He told BBC Breakfast that his petition was written from the heart and it was about how his life was when he was a child. Rashford and his four siblings were on free school meals while they were growing up.
Rashford added that what families are going through now is everything that he had gone through and he knows that it is difficult to find a way out. He said that it is important for him to help people who are struggling that is why he wrote the petition.
However, Rashford's plea has not worked, according to Telegraph. According to the spokesman of the Department for Education, free school meals are only available during the school term and can't be extended.
But the government has launched Holiday Activities and Food Programs for the thousands of children in the country, the program offers free meals and provides activities. The spokesman of the Prime Minister said that Johnson will respond to Rashford's letter as soon as possible.
The food voucher scheme was developed to make sure that the children on free school meals would be fed during the coronavirus lockdown.
The coronavirus pandemic had forced schools across the country to close in March. Each food voucher is worth £15 and they were given to families every week in supermarkets. However, the food voucher scheme is set to end in July.
Rashford wrote that everyone should agree that no child should go to bed hungry. The Government has taken a "Whatever it takes" approach to the economy, and he asked the Government to do the same for the sake of all vulnerable children.
Overwhelming support
The footballer's letter received praise and support from teachers' unions and education leaders. The joint general secretary of the National Education Union, Kevin Courtney, said that the union supports Rashford's plea to provide free meals to children over the summer holidays.
The general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, Geoff Barton, said that if the Government is committed to the cause, the free school meals should extend during the summer holidays.
The spokesman of the Prime Minister said that Johnson understands the issues that the families across the UK are facing, and this is the reason why the Government announced last week that it added £63 million in the budget of local authorities to help families who are struggling to buy food and other essentials.
The Prime Minister also set out that as soon as the schools and kitchens are reopened, food parcels will be made available for collection or delivery for children who are eligible for free school meals.
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