England star Marcus Rashford is leading a new campaign to help the millions of children going hungry in the UK.
The footballer hopes to get the Government to expand free school meals to include every child from a home receiving benefits, helping an extra 1.5 million.
His Child Food Poverty Task Force, launching today, wants the emergency Covid holiday meals scheme to continue and cover all school breaks.
It currently operates in 17 local authorities and he wants it to be to extended to all areas in England to help 1.1 million more children. He wants Healthy Start food vouchers to rise from £3.10 to £4.25 a week.
The recommendations were made in the National Food Strategy report, written by Leon restaurants founder Henry Dimbleby, and Rashford wants Chancellor Rishi Sunak to fund them.
Major supermarkets like Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Aldi are backing the campaign.
In June, Manchester United star Rashford pressured ministers into extending the free school meals scheme into the summer holidays as families struggled during the Covid crisis.
More than 1.3 million kids were eligible before the pandemic. It is feared this number has risen sharply.
Rashford, 22, said: “The task force stand together to offer vulnerable children the platform they need to have their voices heard. I’m humbled to see such a reaction from the food industry. I am confident we can change the lives of those most vulnerable.”
