Man United to provide 5,000 meals for vulnerable school kids in October half-term | OneFootball

Manchester United will deliver 5,000 meals to vulnerable school children over the October half-term, showing their support for Marcus Rashford’s campaign to end child poverty.

The club have teamed up with FareShare to prepare individual meals for local children at Old Trafford before distributing them to Manchester United foundation partner schools.

These schools, including Waterhead Academy, Dean Trust Rose Bridge, The East Manchester Academy, Manchester Enterprise Academy, Manchester Academy and Stretford High School, will provide the meals to children eligible for government-funded free school meals during term time.

Marcus Rashford was recently awarded an MBE for his efforts in tackling child poverty and proposed an extension of free school meal vouchers for vulnerable families into the half-term and Christmas holidays.

But a House of Commons measure to extend the vouchers until the Easter Holidays was rejected by a majority of 322-261 votes, meaning large numbers of children risk going hungry in the coming months.

Rashford, who continues to do incredible work for a cause he has been personally affected by, has since shared the names of hundreds of local businesses who have pledged to provide free meals in spite of the government’s decision.

And United, who successfully provided 60,000 meals for NHS staff in May, have supported Rashford’s campaign by contributing 5,000 meals to school children in the Manchester area.

“We’re incredibly proud and humbled to be working with FareShare over October half-term,” John Shiels, Chief Executive, Manchester United Foundation said, as quoted by the club’s official website.

“This initiative will go a long way to ensuring that pupils from our partner schools and families using local food-banks have fresh meals to eat, during what we know is a difficult time for many.

“We’ve seen first-hand how children from socially challenged backgrounds can be even more vulnerable when they’re not in school, it’s therefore imperative to be present in their lives throughout the school holidays, showing that we care and the Foundation is always here to support.”

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