Marcus Rashford has expressed his 'pride' at seeing offers of help and support flood in to prevent children from going hungry.
Parliament rejected proposals to provide free meals to vulnerable children during the school holidays.
The Labour motion, prompted by a campaign by the footballer, was defeated in the Commons by 261 votes to 322.
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here.
But business owners across Merseyside, including cafes, taxi firms and gyms have made kind gestures after the Government voted down the free school meals motion.
The mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson also said he was "not prepared to stand by and watch", as he announced £300,000 of funding.
It will mean that the council will provide 20,000 children with vouchers over the half-term break.
Mayor Anderson said: "They have got a Government that really doesn't care and doesn't understand."
Mr Anderson claimed it was "arrogance" for residents of the city to be treated in "such a distasteful way as to ignore our pleas and calls".
He said: "There were 61 people who died last week, including Billy, my brother, from Covid in Liverpool. It's heartbreaking."
Rashford, who has driven the #endchildfoodpoverty campaign, tweeted his thanks to communities across the UK tonight.
He said: "I’m signing off with a feeling a pride tonight. The superstars of this nation lie in local communities.
"Even after taking the biggest hits you have wrapped your arms around your community to catch children as they fell.
Find foodbanks near where you live
"I really can’t thank you enough, you’re amazing.
"To the Twitter community, keep sharing these posts via #endchildfoodpoverty.
"Every child should be going to bed tonight feeling like they DO matter. Overwhelmed and thankful."
