It’s been a busy year for Marcus Rashford. Not satisfied with just being one of the most exciting footballers to wear the Manchester United and England shirt in recent years, the 23-year-old went looking for bigger opponents than he could find on the pitch. Boy did he find them.
In an exclusive interview in this week’s Big Issue magazine, Rashford discussed his campaign to end food poverty, conversations with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his proudest moment and his “big” plans for 2021.
But back in March, as the country went in lockdown, he couldn’t take his mind off the effects on thousands of the country’s poorest children.
Having experienced food poverty as a kid, he said he knew many children would be at risk of going to bed hungry as schools closed over lockdown and said he had to raise awareness.
“When hearing about the possible school closures, my attention immediately turned to those children most vulnerable,” he said. “Without school, I had no breakfast club, free school meal or after-school club. I needed to bring attention to the fact that these children would be without vital food resources as long as the schools were closed.”
So he started working with charity FareShare in March. By June he had helped to raise £20 million for vulnerable youngsters and forced a Government U-turn to provide free school meal vouchers over the summer holiday.