Marcus Rashford speaks to Boris Johnson over review of 'unacceptable' food hampers
By Max Cooper
Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has held talks with Boris Johnson regarding the images of 'unacceptable' food hampers distributed to families across the United Kingdom, while the prime minister has promised to correct the issue.
Families have been sharing pictures of the food hampers they had received from Chartwells, the government contractor that has been providing meals as a replacement for the £30 vouchers.
However, the images on social media shocked viewers, with many showing insufficient quantities of food relative to a supposed £30 value.
Chartwells gave this today for a primary school child for five days (also included, but not pictured 3 slices of single serve cheese and 3 froobs)... Heinz beans again and no choice of what you have so unsuitable for kids with special dietary requirements or issues. pic.twitter.com/Hx2U8GuWXg
— Kelly Morris (@kelly_intheend) January 13, 2021
On Wednesday, relentless food campaigner Rashford announced on Twitter that he has since spoken to prime minister Boris Johnson, who is said to be 'committed to correcting the issue.'
"Just had a good conversation with the Prime Minister. He has assured me that he is committed to correcting the issue with the food hampers and that a full review of the supply chain is taking place.
"He agrees that images of hampers being shared on Twitter are unacceptable."
Boris Johnson takes aim at Keir Starmer in PMQs while praising @MarcusRashford, saying “He is doing quite an effective job in comparison to the Right Honourable Gentleman in holding the government to account.”
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) January 13, 2021
PM spoke to Rashford today & says food parcel images “disgraceful” pic.twitter.com/jzUELv3JwB
Rashford is doing a sterling job of continuing this fight to combat child food poverty, all while leading Manchester United to the top of the Premier League. He tweeted about the issue with the food hampers prior to their trip to Burnley on Tuesday evening, explaining that he was already planning to tackle it as soon as possible.
"I have a game today so have to log off but I wanted to update you on the conversation and I look forward to hearing the outcome of the DfE meeting today," Rashford explained.
"Something is going wrong and we need to fix it, quickly!"
I have a game today so have to log off but I wanted to update you on the conversation and I look forward to hearing the outcome of the DfE meeting today.@Chartwells_UK @educationgovuk
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) January 12, 2021
Something is going wrong and we need to fix it, quickly!
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Later that night, Rashford helped fire the Red Devils to the top of the Premier League table, bagging an assist for Paul Pogba's winning goal, and opening a three-point gap over nearest rivals Liverpool.
Now he is ready to take on the government again. The 23-year-old is proving himself to be a genuine role model for us all, in these most testing of circumstances.