Marcus Rashford letter

Couldn’t agree with you more Westendgirl. I wrote on another post that the government shot themselves in the foot on this one. Regardless of how much money they put into the system if they don’t show compassion, but try to hide their bigoted Stance wrapped up in rhetoric they will always be on the back foot, (Most) people can see right through their tactics of divide and rule. As usual, they show they are not as clever as they think they are, a bit more forethought and they could have avoided this whole situation, but as I say I think it is primarily what they want, easier to stay in power if the country is at odds with each other. Phew, glad I got that off my chest!

Marketkat , thank you for your post. It is the children who matter.
Why , therefore did the government not put a strategy in place after the summer climb down ? They knew that the virus could come back strongly in the Autumn causing lockdowns , closure of businesses , redundancies. Surely forward planning is something they could and should have been doing. But time and time again we see lacking of real planning. It's all last minute. Did no one in the government think after the Summer what about half term, Christmas, we had do do an about turn what can we do now to prevent that. etc, etc.That is what you get when people are appointed out of their depth, just because they are yes men.
I see Johnson didn't even reply to Marcus Rashford's letter
he sent in September asking for free school meals to continue in half term and Christmas .

I was the 6th child of 7 children. I’m sure my mum and dad loved each other, in the 1950s they had 6 children and 8 years later my sister. The second child had a severe learning disability, eventually my dad became an alcoholic, drank most of what he earned. My mum took on several jobs leaving the older child to look after the rest of us. We scrapped by on a pittance. Was it my fault to be born into this poverty? Apart from good, poor clothing meant we were always cold and I remember having an old army coat as a blanket on my bed. My mum did her very best in dire circumstances.
50 or so years later, we’ve all worked all our lives, fortunate in the fact I guess that we got a goodish education, we’ve all paid taxes and been good citizens of the society in which we live.
I remember being hungry and it was horrible to get home from school and be lucky if there was a bit of bread and margarine and then put sugar on top. There were times we had plentiful potatoes because mum would take us tattie picking in the holidays. Things have changed and children regardless of their circumstances coming into this world deserve at the very least to be fed, but not just fed, but clothed and warmed. I am also a great believer in that children should be able to have the norms of the era in which they live. So basics, hot water, a tv, a place to feel safe. Alas, there is so much lacking now for the most deprived, there is no replacement for good parenting, but in the absence of that then it is up to the rest of society to look out for those children and provide in whatever way they can. So whether parents smoke, paint their nails, gamble, drink, whatever that is and children fall through the safety net that is meant to be there, what they need more than anything is compassion.
MR is brilliant, the government however is not.

There’s no hope is there? suziewoozie, some days I despair, seriously. People have no idea.

Missfoodlove

Of course children have to be fed but as always we are just treating the symptoms and not looking at the cause.

There is a great sense of entitlement among so many young people, they will feed their dogs, drug and alcohol habits buy their scratch cards, energy drinks and have acrylic nails adorned with gemstones.
Their children will go hungry because the state will step in.
How many genuine cases are there?

When I went to our local food bank to donate, I had to stand in the queue to hand over my bag of goods.
It was an eye opener!
They were smoking filter cigarettes, drinking cans of energy drinks and flashing their nails, there were a couple of Staffordshire terriers tethered up outside too.

I asked volunteers if they needed any particular foods or hygiene products for my next donation, he said could I sign up for a monetary donation to be paid on a standing order rather than bring food.

I have decided not to return there with donations but have donated instead via my supermarket.

There’s no hope is there?

Of course children have to be fed but as always we are just treating the symptoms and not looking at the cause.

There is a great sense of entitlement among so many young people, they will feed their dogs, drug and alcohol habits buy their scratch cards, energy drinks and have acrylic nails adorned with gemstones.
Their children will go hungry because the state will step in.
How many genuine cases are there?

When I went to our local food bank to donate, I had to stand in the queue to hand over my bag of goods.
It was an eye opener!
They were smoking filter cigarettes, drinking cans of energy drinks and flashing their nails, there were a couple of Staffordshire terriers tethered up outside too.

I asked volunteers if they needed any particular foods or hygiene products for my next donation, he said could I sign up for a monetary donation to be paid on a standing order rather than bring food.

I have decided not to return there with donations but have donated instead via my supermarket.

The Scottish Government are investing £10m to support around 156,000 children and young people, by helping families meet the costs of meals over the school holidays

And before anyone starts, they will NOT be getting the money reimbursed via Westminster. It will come from their own budget.

Did you know that MPs get £25 a day food allowance? That’s taxpayers money - maybe the MPs with vast fortunes should pay some of that back?

TiggyW

Perhaps Marcus Rashford could pay for the free children’s meals from his own vast fortune; no doubt he can afford it. That would repay the taxpayers who helped him when he was a child.
Maybe he could also pay for home economics classes for parents who are struggling.

Ooohhhh and there was me thinking that a) he paid tax and b) had already paid more back to society as an example of care, compassion and decency in his short life than many embittered critics had done in decades of their miserable mean existences.

Perhaps Tory MPs could pay for track n trace or HS2 from their vast fortunes, IDS or JRM could sell one of their stately homes, stupid argument TiggyW. Marcus is a tax payer and makes charity contributions, he’s probably paid back many times over for his school meals.

This post of yours.....so good you did it twice ? I’m sure he does contribute lots but this is an issue for the government to deal with.
By the way it’s called food technology these days.

Perhaps Marcus Rashford could pay for the free children’s meals from his own vast fortune; no doubt he can afford it. That would repay the taxpayers who helped him when he was a child.
Maybe he could also pay for home economics classes for parents who are struggling.

granny activist, no surprise that I'll answer the question. No I could not see a child in need of a meal and ignore that child. We were shielding so couldn't contribute directly to our local food bank - we set up a direct debit instead. yes we're fortunate to be able to do this.

granny I doubt you’ll get an answer to your question - one of problems is that posters who criticise parents don’t actually ever think through the implications of the position they adopt. Neither do they appreciate the often many complex reasons why some parents are not coping

Would anyone who has said that it's not society's responsibility to feed hungry children like to respond to my question above?

For ease I'll ask it again; Would you, personally, see a child in need of a meal and ignore that child?

I was a volunteer for Save The Children for 20 years and, like all volunteers, we knew that it is the children who matter. They did not have a say in being born. They might have had feckless parents, but it was not their fault. Children should not be punished because of their parents' actions.

Children cannot, in a civilised society, be left to bear the brunt of parental failings in any sphere: food, education, absence of abuse etc.

By all means (if you really must) have the conversation about how far disadvantaged families are the author of their own downfall, but surely everyone can agree that the detrimental consequences should not be visited upon the heads of the children. All that does is perpetuate the cycle.

We might say: X child would be fine if only his/her parents did not spend all their money on drink/drugs etc, and it is indeed good if those things are tackled, but in the meantime we have to go the extra mile to prevent children bearing the brunt of these failings.

We may know what parents should do, but if they don't we have to pick up the pieces for the children. It is in their and our interests.

Welcome back granny activist and YES in agreement to your Nelson Mandela quote
There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats it children.

I've had a very busy week since starting the thread, so I'm only just catching up.

I absolutely agree that children are the responsibility of their parents. However, if, for any reason, the parents are not willing or able to discharge their responsibilities what should we, as a 'civilised society' do?

Leave a child hungry?

Would you, personally, see a child in need of a meal and ignore that child? 'Society' is made up of people, you and me - and civilised societies act on behalf of the needy. Who is needier than a hungry child?

I was raised in a family that some on here would see as the 'undeserving' poor. Life was really hard during my childhood and though we children suffered it was through no fault of mine or my siblings.

We children grew up and we have all given back to society far more than the cost of those school dinners or what my mum had from the state in National Assistance (as the benefit was called then). We have all 'done well' in the eyes of those who count upward mobility as a sign of such things. We have paid taxes, served in the military, been in full employment for most of our lives and have contributed to society by volunteering and being good employers and/or employees. We are now parents ourselves; to well educated, professional sons and daughters who are paying their taxes in turn.

I agree with Nelson Mandela who said, 'There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children.'

I will investigate, thank you.

Callistemon - we have a local group called Urban Outreach. I suspect other areas have similar voluntary group. Our DD is to that organisation. They are active on our local Covid 19 group, as well as on facebook and in the local press. An additional positive is that the group is run by a group who reflect our diverse ethnic town.

I hav just had a look and that doesn't seem possible here. The same advice re donating at the local supermarket applies.

suziewoozie, that's exactly what we did, a monthly direct debit to the local charity that distributes food.
It's more, that we would usually have dropped into the food boxes at the supermarket and definitely the right thing for us to do.

Call when we went into lockdown I wondered what to do
about the food bank so I did a monthly direct debit. That has the added advantage of allowing them to fill some of the gaps in what they can offer.

In Wales the govt are giving boxes of food to each child who qualifies for free lunches. These boxes are delivered to the home of the child and contain enough food for a breakfast and a main meal for a week. I understand they also include fruit etc too.
It may well be the local authority that decides to give food rather than the vouchers but I think it is an excellent idea and it may encourage people to cook if they have the ingredients there.