Marcus Rashford and Free School Meals
With COVID-19 leading to the closing of schools in March and a national lockdown, many children were left to struggle with food arrangements. A lot of families struggle to provide food, and free school meals has always been a great asset to the lives of many children.
Traditionally, during school breaks, many schools and centres will stay open will the sole purpose of ensuring that pupils on free school meals are fed during the holidays. This is because, for some children, the free school meal they receive may be the only meal they receive. With lockdown earlier this year, this was obviously not possible.
If it were not for Manchester United football player, Marcus Rashford, many children would have been left to fend for themselves during lockdown.
Marcus has worked alongside Fareshare to help children across the country get access to food during the pandemic. He also worked to create a voucher scheme, which acted as a replacement for free school meals, earlier in the year with his #MakeTheUTurn campaign.
The fact that Marcus, with the support of the majority of the public and many celebrities, had to campaign to install measures to ensure kids got meals, makes us question whether our government is meeting its expectations. Are the needs of the ordinary British people being neglected? Is this proof that you need to be upper class for your needs to be accounted for, despite it being clear that most of the population does not meet these criteria?
Ultimately, it is the government’s responsibility to ensure these children are fed.
It can also be said that it is the responsibility of the parents of said children, but for several reasons many struggle to afford to do this. In such circumstances, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure the children of this country are not left to go hungry.
It is shocking that in one of the most advanced countries in the world, which is far from famine, and during the 21st century, our children are being left to go hungry. All in a situation that is not their fault.
Aside of it being anyone’s responsibility to feed these children, it does not mean they should go hungry, it will never be their fault. They do not deserve to suffer.
Article 25 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, states that ‘Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food…and the right to security in the event of…lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.’ COVID-19 is not the fault of these children. Why should they be agonised due to this? It is their right to have an adequate standard of living, why in this instance is it being neglected?
Scotland has funded £10m for local councils to provide food to those who need it during this pandemic. What is England’s excuse? Note that it has been referred to as an excuse; there will never be a way of justifying leaving children to go hungry. It has become clear what our government’s priorities are during a pandemic, and it certainly is not us.
However, it is also important to appreciate that there is not anything wrong with celebrities giving a helping hand during these unprecedented times. Being in the public eye means they have a duty to act as role models and set good examples for others to follow. This is precisely what Marcus Rashford has done. As a result of his campaign, many restaurants have helped by donating and offering free meals to the public.
Celebrities have such big platforms and wealth, there is no harm in using it for a good cause. However, it is not acceptable that celebrities are having to step in and act on a matter that is the government’s job. I am pretty sure that when Marcus Rashford applied to be a professional footballer, he did not add that he had an interest in carrying out the role of the government.
It is nice to see celebrities doing charity work and helping the community, but the fact of the matter is that it is not their responsibility to go to deal with these issues. The most unsettling part of the situation is that we have had to campaign for these meals to be provided for children, as if we are asking for something unreasonable.
We also have a part to play. We cannot sit back and leave children in this country to go hungry. Please donate to your local foodbanks. Be sure to help your friends and family if you know they are struggling.
Here are some sites that are accepting and offering food donations, be sure to check them out.
Fareshare: https://fareshare.org.uk/
The Trussel Trust: https://www.trusselltrust.org/
As a sidenote, it is important that we remove the stigma attached to free school meals. The campaigning discussed above should be sufficient evidence of just how important free school meals are. Having free school meals does not make one inferior. No child is at fault in this situation and they do not deserve to go hungry.
Written by Halimah Begum
Hi, i'm Halimah, an 18 year old student from Birmingham. I like to write as a hobby and a way of expressing my opinions, while also attending to my responsibilities as a student.