A food distribution scheme backed by Manchester United star Marcus Rashford is currently distributing more than eight million meals per week, the striker revealed today.
FareShare works with the farming and food industries to save quality surplus food from going to waste, working to deliver it to thousands of frontline charities to provide meals for vulnerable children and adults.
Their work has doubled during the pandemic, with more families than ever on the breadline.
Homeless charity Shelter today warned that its emergency helpline is being contacted once a minute and a third of callers are from families with children.
Almost 25,000 people in England have contacted the charity in the last two months, and 90,000 have been in touch since the start of the pandemic in March.
This week Sir Alex Ferguson praised the efforts of Rashford as he teamed up with the Manchester United forward to tackle child food poverty.
Rashford was awarded an MBE for his recent campaigning – which also saw the Government twice make a U-turn on providing free school meals during holidays.
Now the 23-year-old has said former United boss Ferguson is set to pledge up to £2million towards the FareShare charity for which Rashford is an ambassador.
An appeal in the Times is aiming to raise funds and Rashford revealed Ferguson, alongside Sir Michael Moritz, will match donations up to the aforementioned sum and described the news as “incredible”.
Ferguson, 78, grew up in Glasgow in tough conditions and believes Rashford has done a great job in highlighting the plight facing families across Britain.
“You have to be shocked at the number of people who are in need of food,” he said in an interview with the Times.
“Marcus has opened the eyes of everyone in Britain. The work he’s done has been fantastic and we’re all so proud of him because of that.
“What Marcus has done is he’s led the way – people will say, ‘That boy he’s only 23 years of age’. People who are in their later ages…should be saying, ‘I can do something’.”
Donate to FareShare here
Related: Pressure mounts on Patel to cancel “dangerous and wrong” deportation flight
