Soccer star leads an awakening on child hunger in Britain
| London
Jason Stephens remembers the hunger pains and sleepless nights following his release from jail in 2015. Unable to find work, he eventually purchased a food truck instead and sold burgers on the streets.
Fast-forward to a cold night in Britain鈥檚 second coronavirus lockdown, Mr. Stephens drives the same truck into the heart of Cardiff鈥檚 most deprived neighborhoods, handing out a thousand hot meals to children. 鈥淚 was watching everyone losing their jobs in lockdown and kids going hungry,鈥� says the Welshman. 鈥淗ow can that happen in modern day Britain?鈥�
Mr. Stephens cooks and听prepares food donated by Asda and Morrisons, two of Britain鈥檚 biggest supermarkets, before pulling up outside to deliver sausage, potato mash, and a traditional roast dinner from the truck, to children going hungry without their state-provisioned school meals over the late October break.
Why We Wrote This
Job losses, lockdowns, and government inaction left many children in the United Kingdom confronting food insecurity. But along with outrage, the result has been a citizen outpouring of aid.
He, and hundreds of other businesses, are acting to remedy a Dickensian issue brought to the fore by the pandemic. More than 4 million children live in poverty in the United Kingdom. And while it is not a new problem, it is one that had been largely hidden from public view before the pandemic, when associated shortages amid lockdown brought the issue into stark relief.
British food poverty organization Food Foundation says some 1.4 million children reported experiences of food insecurity over the summer holidays.
But while the government has been slow to respond to the crisis, particularly as the threat of new midwinter shortages approach, British businesses and volunteers are tackling the problem head-on.
鈥淟et鈥檚 go feed children ourselves鈥�
About 1 in 7 children in the U.K. claim free school meals, which are available to households earning under 拢7,400 ($9,750) a year.听Charities say the low threshold means many children in slightly higher-income households, but below the U.K.鈥檚 average income of 拢30,800, are ineligible for state help, forcing families to survive on food banks.
Hayley Steere, founder of Free-My-Meal, a national charity linking people who need food with those willing to cook it, remembers the humiliation of forgoing meals as a single mother working three jobs, over a decade ago.
鈥淚 remember having a huge packet of crisps for dinner every night. I thought that was okay but it clearly wasn鈥檛,鈥� says Ms. Steere. 鈥淚 lost my choir business at the beginning of lockdown, but if I was in that situation as a single mother on benefits still, I鈥檇 need a food bank.鈥�
The person perhaps most responsible for bringing Britain鈥檚 poverty crisis to widespread public attention is Marcus Rashford, a soccer player known for his quiet, steely determination on the pitch for Manchester United.
Mr. Rashford successfully lobbied the U.K. government to make a U-turn and extend free meal provisions for children in low-income households over the school summer holidays, when otherwise they might lose that vital food source amid the pandemic.听He set up a child food poverty task force and repeated the clarion call again in October, urging Prime Minister Boris Johnson to extend food provisions over the autumn and winter school break. Pressured by Mr. Rashford鈥檚 campaign, Parliament voted on the proposal, but ultimately rejected it.听
Although the prime minister has recently done another about-face, in the form of 拢170 million of extra funding for free school meals, anger and action had already spread across Britain. Some businesses opted for symbolic measures: One Yorkshire pub owner banned the local member of Parliament, Chancellor Rishi Sunak 鈥� one of the 322 MPs who voted against free school meals 鈥� from entering.
But hundreds more went into action, parceling food for hungry children.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know who [Mr. Rashford] was until I started doing this. I鈥檓 not a football fan, but my wife and mum told me about his work and it gave me the kick I needed to do something,鈥� says Mr. Stephens, in Cardiff. 鈥淲hen the government voted against giving free school meals to kids, I thought, 鈥楲et鈥檚 go feed children ourselves.鈥欌��
Inspired by Mr. Rashford too, grocery store owner Paul White recruited 200 volunteers and 鈥渃ommandeered鈥� a school kitchen in East Lancashire, northern England.
Using donations from Britain鈥檚 biggest supermarkets, he got the owner of a local restaurant to help with the menu. 鈥淲e hired a fridge and 24 hours later, we were cooking all through the night,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e tried to replicate what kids were eating at school. It might be their only healthy meal of the day.鈥�
Working closely with local schools, the grocery store owner set up a text service contacting families in receipt of state-provided meals and has delivered 3,000 meals across East Lancashire.听
He fears the lockdown has pushed people 鈥渨ho鈥檝e never experienced hunger before into food poverty.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 worse than I imagined it to be,鈥� says Mr. White. 鈥淢others and kids have been in tears on doorsteps because they were hungry.鈥�
An alternative to the food bank
Critics argue food banks are an inefficient way of fighting both child and food poverty. In Waltham Abbey, a small town on the London-Essex border, Pesh Kapasiawala opens his door to a space that resembles something more like a supermarket. His belief that food banks are 鈥渦ndignified and traumatic鈥� led him to opening community hub 3Food4U in August. Locals queue up to pick out fresh fruit, pastries, and clothes donated by supermarket giants Marks & Spencer, Asda, and Morrisons that would otherwise end up in landfill.
Mr. Kapasiawala says food banks have a bureaucratic profile, often relying on local authorities to assess recipients, which means people "can鈥檛 just turn up ... it鈥檚 not somewhere where you want to take kids to.鈥�
At his food hub, recipients have the freedom to choose items as they walk around, including a shelf stocked with children鈥檚 toys.
About 250 families a week visit his 鈥渃ommunity surplus hub.鈥� Young professionals, nurses, and teachers with young children browse items, saving them up to 拢60 on weekly shopping expenses.
With further economic concern on the horizon, Ms. Steere is well aware that Britain鈥檚 poverty trap looms precariously close to many on so-called middle-class incomes. Near her Surrey home, she received a call for emergency food from a resident living in a family-sized cottage that appeared in a Hollywood film.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter what you look like, or who you are. I鈥檒l never judge if you鈥檙e going hungry.鈥�
Editor鈥檚 note: As a public service, we have removed our paywall for听all pandemic-related stories.
