Manchester United and England striker Marcus Rashford has called on health professionals to do more to persuade families in need not to miss out on government food vouchers.
Writing an open letter to the British Medical Journal Rashford said:
“I am calling on healthcare professionals to ask for your support in our mission to encourage as many people as possible, who are eligible, to sign up to the government’s Healthy Start scheme.”
In September 2020, research by the Food Foundation found that around 14% of UK families with children experienced food insecurity in the past six months and could not afford or access sufficient food.
He writes that:
”In November 2020, I welcomed the government’s investment into the Healthy Start scheme, specifically the increase in the value of Healthy Start vouchers from £3.10 to £4.25 per week in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland from April 2021.
“The scheme has proven benefits in improving access to healthy food for pregnant women and children under the age of 4 living on low incomes.
Research has found that the scheme increased spending on fruit and vegetables and improved the nutrient composition of families’ shopping, with no offsetting changes in spending on other foodstuffs.
In April this year Rashford launched Full Time Meals alongside chef Tom Kerridge.
“We have been developing recipes to the value of these vouchers, with an emphasis on stored goods with a longer shelf life, and on cooking food with limited equipment. The aim is for all children, regardless of their background, to find confidence in the kitchen and learn how to cook—a life skill that will benefit them in their adult life. Secondary to this, the project was developed to reduce some of the stigma around food voucher use.”
The striker adds that since November 2020, members of the Child Food Poverty Taskforce have used their channels and platforms to communicate about the Healthy Start scheme and to tell people how to access it, with the hope that we will be able to reach the majority of those most in need. While we have seen 57 000 more parents benefit from the scheme as a result, I’m concerned we are plateauing.
“More than 40% of those eligible for the vouchers are still not registered for the scheme, and I’m confident that the majority of these parents can be found in communities just like mine, where I grew up—no internet, no high street, no word of mouth.”
“Long term, sustainable change can only come when communities work towards a common goal. No child deserves to be starting life 20 yards behind any other child from the day they are born, just because of where they are born and the circumstances they are born into.
On a daily basis, healthcare professionals see firsthand the impact that hunger and poor diets have on physical and mental health and where that can lead. The Covid Realities research programme has documented the physical and mental health impacts that living with food insecurity has on families. You are for many—and for many communities like mine—a lifeline. You provide an avenue to really be heard and to be seen.
He finishes the letter by saying:
“In conclusion, and not to beat around the bush, we need you—every single one of you—to help us reach those most in need in our communities, especially given the planned digitisation of the scheme this autumn, which will disproportionately disadvantage those without easy access to the internet”
