Marcus Rashford launches cooking campaign with top chef to tackle food poverty
Manchester United star Marcus Rashford and Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge have joined forces to offer back-to-basics recipe ideas to help tackle food poverty.
The striker, who last year forced the Government to extend free school meal provision for low income families said he wanted the social-media based weekly tutorials - which will also feature famous faces from the worlds of sport, music and television - to inspire people to make easy but healthy meals on a budget.
The latest campaign, named Full Time: Get Cooking With Marcus And Tom, launches this Sunday and coincides with the government’s Healthy Start payment scheme, which supports low-income households with grocery shopping.
The duo's tutorials will be posted on Instagram every Sunday. Rashford, a self-confessed novice in the kitchen, will take part in around 20 video "how-to" sessions, with celebrity guests such as broadcaster Fearne Cotton and fitness guru Joe Wicks among those substituting in to join Kerridge, 47.
Drawing on memories of going hungry as a child, Rashford added: "I remember sometimes at school I would fall asleep - I just hadn't eaten food, I wasn't awake, so I would just literally fall asleep.
"So I can see how it has an effect on their ability to learn and concentrate in class.
"Some of these kids may dream to be a scientist but imagine if they're in science class but they're always tired - I don't want that to happen."
Rashford said he wanted the initiative to help remove the sort of "embarrassment" his mother Melanie felt when using food banks, and described the stigma attached to state-funded programmes such as Healthy Start vouchers as "the most silly thing I've ever heard".
Kerridge said there was "no silver bullet that solves the issue" of food poverty, but added: "What we are trying to do is encourage those who are in that more disadvantaged area ... to get more for their money."
Recipes will be posted weekly on the @FullTimeMeals Instagram page.