“THIS is England”: Marcus Rashford secures free meals for 1.3 million children

"The system was not built for families like mine to succeed".

Since carving his way into a struggling Manchester United squad in 2016, 22-year-old Marcus Rashford has seen his life change drastically in just a few short years. The Wythenshawe-born striker has spoken on how his family would have struggled without free school meals and breakfast clubs. Throughout lockdown, he has been using his platform to support families from a similar background. As schools have closed, many of the most vulnerable in the UK may have been left without regular meals.

Aside from already helping to raise around £20 million to combat this, Rashford has also campaigned this week with an open letter to all MPs. He asked them not to cancel the government’s current scheme of providing food vouchers to those families without school meals, which was due to end over the summer period. After hundreds of thousands of people got behind this cause, it looked as though a significant number of Conservative MPs would turn rebel over the issue, which has consequently forced Boris Johnson to u-turn. This means that the government will continue the scheme into the summer, providing meal vouchers for those in need.

Rashford has been widely praised for his campaigning and use of his platform, as an outpouring of support from the public and celebrities alike floods his social media. The government has also praised his handling of the issue, even if Matt Hancock did call him “Daniel” earlier today, apparently accidentally.