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Published 12:17 IST, October 29th 2020

Marcus Rashford's appeal to UK govt to end child food poverty crosses 1 million signatures

Man United striker Marcus Rashford's petition against child hunger in the UK has received over a million signatures around the time he bagged a hat-trick.

Reported by: Minaam Ansari
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Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford bagged his first hat-trick in his professional career against RB Leipzig, coming on as a substitute in the second half in the Champions League. Although he has been delivering such scintillating performances on the field time and again, the striker's off-the-field efforts against various issues that plague the UK haven't gone unnoticed either. He launched a new petition urging the UK government to end child hunger, which has received magnificent support. 

Also Read | Man United to provide 5,000 free school meals in October holidays with Rashford initiative

Rashford petition receives a million signatures

Rashford launched a petition to appeal to the government to abolish child hunger in UK. For this, the Man United striker demanded that the UK government extend the free school meals scheme. The 22-year-old, who has been quite vocal on the issue, took to Twitter to claim he has been through some of the problems that the struggling families are facing.

Rashford swung into action after Member of Parliaments (MPs) voted out a labour motion that demanded the extension of the free school meal scheme until Easter 2021, with an aim to prevent child hunger in UK. 

Also Read | Guy Mowbray quits Twitter after facing backlash for comments on Marcus Rashford

Marcus Rashford campaign effective since his Twitter appeal 

Rashford launched a campaign to this effect on the Parliament website. And the Rashford petition seems to have garnered sufficient attention to force the government to accept his demands. The England international has received over a million signatures to act against child hunger in UK. 

Before the Marcus Rashford campaign received a million signatures, the striker took to Twitter with an emotional appeal for his countrymen. His tweet read, "Let's take a second to remember that a lot of families in need will not have access to the internet. They can't sign petitions or scroll down my Twitter. Their voices cannot be heard so we have to use ours to communicate on all of this amazing local help. Thank you all."

Also Read | Marcus Rashford wants to collaborate with Ministers after excellent free meals campaign

Support pouring in for Rashford's campaign

According to All Of Us Together, a team of tech and campaign volunteers, more than 2000 restaurants, cafes and other businesses in England have pledged their support to Rashford's petition. They will support struggling families during term breaks, according to The Guardian. 

Also Read | Yuvraj Singh in awe of Marcus Rashford's splendid strike vs PSG in Champions League

Image courtesy: Marcus Rashford Twitter 

Updated 12:17 IST, October 29th 2020

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