McDonald’s are to offer 1,000,000 free meals to families in the UK, joining Marcus Rashford’s campaign to make sure disadvantaged kids don’t go hungry over half-term
The fast food giant has announced a partnership with FareShare, the food charity backed by Manchester United striker Rashford. The partnership will see McDonald’s provide funding that will help one million meals reach families in need.
In a tweet announcing the news, McDonald’s said: “We are proud to announce a partnership with FareShare to provide 1 million meals for families in need.
“Our funding will enable the urgent redistribution of meals across the next couple of weeks to those in greatest need.”
We are proud to announce a partnership with @FareShareUK to provide 1 million meals for families in need. Our funding will enable the urgent redistribution of meals across the next couple of weeks to those in greatest need.
— McDonald's UK (@McDonaldsUK) October 23, 2020
Paul Pomroy, CEO of McDonald’s for UK & Ireland, said: “As a business we are committed to supporting and serving the communities in which we operate.
“In these challenging times, we know it’s more important than ever to support those most in need.”
Lindsay Boswell, FareShare CEO, also commented: “McDonald’s is showing real leadership in supporting the most vulnerable in society to get access to healthy food at this critical time.
“The funding will enable the equivalent of 1 million meals to be redistributed to our charity network very swiftly, and we are very grateful for their urgent support.”
The move follows a busy day on Twitter for Rashford, who has been highlighting the thousands of pubs, restaurants, local councils and other organisations across the UK who have stepped up and pledged free meals for families in need.
— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) October 23, 2020
On Wednesday, MPs voted down a Labour motion to extend free school meals over the upcoming school holidays by 261 votes to 322. Tory MP Caroline Ansell resigned from the government after voting with Labour to support the motion.
Rashford responded after the vote, saying: “This is not politics. This is humanity.
“We talk about the devastating impact of COVID-19 but, if projections are anything to go by, child food poverty has the potential to become the greatest pandemic the country has ever faced.”
