Cafe is overwhelmed by donations on Gofundme to feed hungry children over half-term
- ‘It’s never the child’s fault’: cafe owner inspired to help struggling parents by providing free meals to poor children
- Gofundme page receives over £5k in donations in just a few days
- Cafe hopes to continue providing free meals after school holidays
A Trafford cafe has raised more than £5k to provide hot meals for children over the half-term holiday after being inspired by Marcus Rashford’s End Child Food Poverty campaign.
Rashford caught the attention of the country outside the football the pitch by leading the End Child Food Poverty campaign, which has inspired people across the UK to do their bit.
Minikin Paint a Pot Art Cafe in Trafford has stepped up in solidarity to support hungry children in Manchester and raised £5k in just four days of setting up the Meals for Kids Gofundme page.
Cafe owner and single mother Claire Oliver, 44, said: “It’s been overwhelming. More than ever the way the country is, is about community, not judging people.”
The cafe sent a tweet saying it would be providing a hot baked potato with beans, fruit snack and a drink with hashtags #endchildfoodpoverty and #bemoremarcus and after Marcus Rashford retweeted it, Claire woke up to find a surge of donations.
— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) October 22, 2020
Claire emphasised the importance of offering help to parents struggling to feed their children during the pandemic and as a single mother herself she understands it may be embarrassing for many parents to ask for help.
She said: “People who can’t feed their children may have never been in this situation before.”
Minikin Paint a Pot Art Cafe will be providing free hot meals and packed lunches between 11.30am and 5pm out of their hatch and will also be delivering the meals for those unable to get to the cafe.
The cafe hopes to continue providing free kids meals even after the half-term holidays for as long as they can, and hope others will also step up to help.