Nov 8, 2020 - World

U.K. to back child poverty fund following petition from soccer star

Fadel Allassan

Marcus Rashford celebrating. — Marcus Rashford. Photo: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images

The British government will spend £170 million ($220 million) on providing free meals to poor children and their families during the holidays, following a child hunger campaign by soccer star Marcus Rashford, AP reports.

The big picture: The program was spurred by a petition from the 23-year-old Manchester United forward and garnered more than 1 million signatures after initially being rejected by Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government. It will affect nearly 1.7 million children in the U.K. over the next 12 months, Rashford said.

It's the second time Rashford has pressured Johnson's government into changing its child poverty policies, convincing the government to extend a voucher program for free school meals over the summer.
"I had a good conversation with the prime minister to better understand the proposed plan, and I very much welcome the steps that have been taken to combat child food poverty in the UK,” Rashford tweeted Sunday.

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U.K. to back child poverty fund following petition from soccer star

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