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A quarter of a million people have signed Marcus Rashford’s petition demanding a major expansion of the free school meals program within days of its launch.
The England and Manchester United striker has vowed to continue campaigning for the plan to be extended to school holidays and to all children whose family receives universal credit, despite resistance from Downing Street.
Labor also joined the campaign, warning that it will force a vote in the Commons on the issue this week unless the government agrees to the demands. It has warned that a million children could go hungry without a review of free meals. Kate Green, the parallel education secretary, said “now is the time to act.” However, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “Schools should not provide food to pupils regularly during school holidays.”
Asking more people to sign the petition, Rashford, 22, said: “Let’s show these 1.5 million vulnerable children that being British is something to be proud of.”
Boris Johnson has already been forced to make a 180-degree turn as a result of the Rashford campaign, reversing the government’s decision not to provide food stamps for some of England’s poorest families during the summer. It resulted in a new £ 120 million “Covid summer food fund” for 1.3 million pupils in England.
Rashford was endorsed by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week, who calls for a £ 20 million a week plan to provide 1.5 million poor children free meals for midterm and Christmas.
Green said: “Millions of families face the prospect of losing their livelihoods because the government has lost control of the virus. His supportive plans to sink or swim could leave more than a million children at risk of starvation during school holidays.
“Now is the time to act. Labor will not stand by and let families fall victim to government incompetence. If Boris Johnson does not change course, we will force a vote this week and give his backbenchers a chance to do so. the right thing “.
The pressure is also increasing on Nicola Sturgeon to provide extra help mid-term and during Christmas. The Scottish government is said to be looking to introduce more support. The Welsh government, on the other hand, has pledged to provide free school meals during the holidays until Easter next year.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, also endorsed Rashford’s call. “The government must show that it is committed to social justice by extending the provision of free school meals to school vacation periods during this time of national emergency in which many families are experiencing great difficulties,” he said.
A government spokeswoman said: “We have taken substantial steps to ensure children and families do not go hungry by extending free school meals when schools close, increasing social support by £ 9.3 billion and giving councils £ 63 millions to provide emergency support to families for food and other essentials.
“We also appreciate that it has been a difficult time for families, so we have increased the safety net available to them with income protection plans, mortgage vacations and tenant support. We thank Marcus Rashford for his work which sheds light on the significant challenges facing families at this time. “
