'To reflect this we will be providing a Covid summer food fund. This will provide food vouchers covering the six-week holiday period.'
The England international drew on his own experience of growing up in poverty to lead an impassioned campaign for the programme to be extended through the summer holidays.
"Owing to the coronavirus pandemic, the prime minister fully understands that children and parents face an entirely unprecedented situation over the summer," his spokesman said. The striker had written to Johnson and MPs and on Tuesday wrote in The Times newspaper that he understood personally how much free school meals mattered to children receiving them."I'm well aware that at times my friends only invited me to eat at their houses for their parents' reassurance that I was eating that evening."
When schools were shut, pupils eligible for free meals were offered vouchers instead, and the government has boosted welfare payments and provided targeted funds for the most vulnerable. Several Conservative MPs had called on Johnson to"do the right thing" and extend the school meal programme. "He's lived food hunger and helps food charities," he said, referring to Rashford's help in raising £20 million for FareShare, a charity that fights hunger and food waste.
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