Marcus Rashford launches website to support children in food poverty this Christmas

The website, endchildfoodpoverty.org, launched jointly with the Child Food Poverty Taskforce, includes an interactive map of the UK that signposts families to food support schemes available in each area.

Local authorities, businesses, food banks, charities and sporting organisations have all signed up, presenting their offers of food support to young people and families throughout the winter period and beyond.

Several major UK food businesses and members of the Child Food Poverty Task Force, such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Co-Op, Nandos, MacDonalds and Deliveroo, have rallied together to tackle child hunger this winter, with the website being a central point for information on support schemes available.

Hundreds of food banks and charities have also registered details of the emergency food provision they will be offering over the Christmas period, with a huge rise in people looking for support being reported.

The Independent Food Aid Network has reported a 60 per cent increase in the use of food banks in October, and is projecting a sharp rise in numbers as millions more face financial insecurity due to the pandemic and the end of the furloughing schemes. 
 
England International footballer, Marcus Rashford MBE, said, ‘Following the Government investment, it was important to me that we supported by communicating on the help available in local areas, working closely with local authorities, so that our vulnerable families know where to turn when faced with the toughest winter on record.

'In partnership with Co-op and Google, we have developed a central hub for those who need help and those who want to help. That second function was really important to me – everyone has a role to play in ending child food poverty in the UK and we wanted to support those who want to make a difference. There is still so much more to be done but the least children deserve this year, after loss and disruption, is a Christmas dinner on the table.’

Anna Taylor, executive director of The Food Foundation said, ‘For so many families, this Christmas will be extremely precarious as the ongoing financial pressures of Covid-19 push struggling households further into hardship and force a newly vulnerable segment of society to seek help for the first time. The new #endchildfoodpoverty website will be a vital resource for these families, making sure that those struggling to put food on the table can connect rapidly with local provision. More than this though; it’s a platform for a community who cares about ending child food poverty and want to work together to stop the stigma and find lasting solutions.’

The Government recently announced a £170m emergency winter grants scheme for local authorities to prepare for one of the most challenging Christmas periods ever, with millions of families struggling to feed their children.

Businesses and other organisations are invited to register to the #endchildfoodpoverty map, with hundreds opening and offering holiday schemes or free meals to children as part of a broad campaign to bring the country together to #EndChildFoodPoverty.

Marcus Rashford is also calling on as many people as possible to register details of their offer using the following web form:  bit.ly/ecfpform

The BBC documentary, entitled Marcus Rashford: Feeding Britain’s Children will air at 7pm on BBC One and the trailer can be viewed here.

Meanwhile, the Food Foundation has released a series of podcasts, introduced by Dame Emma Thompson, hearing from the people on the front line in food banks, charities and from families who are facing crisis levels of food insecurity. They feature the Young Food Ambassadors who also appear in the BBC documentary.