Marcus Rashford urges the Government to hold a meeting after amazing free school meals campaign

Marcus Rashford renewed his invitation to the Government for a meeting on Friday night, as he prepared to take his extraordinary public campaign for an extension of free school meals into this weekend.

Sportsmail understands that there has still been no official response from Government to Rashford’s request to meet him and his child food poverty task force. 

But he still wants to collaborate with ministers, despite effectively bypassing the Government on Friday with a social media campaign which exceeded his wildest expectations.

Marcus Rashford has again invited the Government for a meeting about free school meals

Rashford and his mother visited a food charity after MPs voted down his plan to provide free school meals 

After the House of Commons voted down a Labour bill supporting his campaign to extend free school meals into this October half term, he issued a tweet on Thursday night urging local businesses across the country to provide resources instead.

Offers have flooded in from Wigan, Brighton, Middlesbrough, Hackney, Hull, Falmouth, Liverpool and Lincoln and many more, all re-tweeted out to Rashford’s 3.6 million followers.

Sportsmail understands that Rashford is keen to show that there is no North-South divide in the campaign and that ‘we are all in this together.’ 

The next moves will be discussed on Monday but the aim this weekend is to champion businesses, many themselves struggling with the economic effects of the pandemic, who are making a difference.

This week the footballer blasted MPs for rejecting plans to extend free school meals during the Easter holidays, claiming that children ‘will go to bed feeling hungry and worthless’ 

The campaign has been completely championed by Manchester United footballer Rashford