Saturday Kitchen star Matt Tebbutt is encouraging people across the Isle of Wight to swap their £4 supermarket meal deal to help feed hungry children.
Matt, who is one of Britain’s most recognisable chefs, having also hosted Food Unwrapped and Drop Down Menu and been a judge on MasterChef: The Professionals, has teamed up with school feeding charity Mary’s Meals to promote its Meals Deals campaign.
What is Mary’s Meals?
Mary’s Meals, which started in a shed in the Scottish Highlands in 2002, provides a nutritious meal to more than three million children every school day. Working in some of the world’s poorest communities in 16 countries, including Haiti, Lebanon and Zimbabwe, the charity’s school meals bring hungry children into the classroom, where they can gain an education and look to a brighter future.
Thanks to Mary’s Meals’ low-cost approach, it costs only £19.15 to provide a child with meals in a place of education for a whole school year, just 10p a meal.
School + food = hope
Matt is backing their Meals Deals campaign, which calls on people to swap out their £4 meal deal for a donation that will be transformed into nutritious food for 40 children at school.
The TV chef says,
“We all have busy lives and it’s so easy to quickly grab a meal deal when we’re on the go – I’ll often seek out my favourite sandwich, crisps and a drink in between cooking and filming. But it’s incredible to think that by skipping just one meal deal and instead donating £4, you could help to transform the lives of 40 hungry children by providing them with food, education and hope.
“It’s easy to feel a bit helpless when we watch the news and see everything going on in the world. There’s so much sadness out there and you don’t know how to respond. But when I heard about the Meals Deals campaign and the simplicity of it, I loved it and had to get involved. They have a lovely line of ‘school + food = hope’, and I think that’s something we can all get behind.”
Meet Samar
By swapping out a meal deal for a £4 donation to Mary’s Meals, you can help children like Samar. The primary 8 student lives in South Sudan, where more than one third of all children under five years old suffer chronic malnutrition, and over 70% of primary school-age children are out of school – the highest figure anywhere in the world.
Economic hardship is such that many families have to make the heartbreaking decision to send their children out to work rather than attending school.
Samar’s mother, Medina, is bringing up her daughter alone. To make money, she buys small quantities of flour to make cakes to sell; this is the family’s main source of income.
Samar explains,
“When my mother has some money, we can have two meals a day. However, when there is not enough money, we may only have tea in the morning and then wait until evening to have a meal. When there is not enough food at home, I simply endure the situation.”
But thanks to Mary’s Meals, Samar can now rely on a nutritious daily meal at school. She says,
“I feel happy to come to school every day because I know that I will receive a meal. Even when I do not have anything to eat at home, I know there will be food at school.”
Anna Houghton, Regional Development Officer for Mary’s Meals, says,
“We’re all big Saturday Kitchen fans here at Mary’s Meals and so excited Matt has chosen to put our Meals Deals campaign in the spotlight.
“With one simple act, by saying no to a meal deal and donating just £4, you can help shape a brighter future for 40 children like Samar who face a daily battle for survival. Your spare pennies can make a tangible on-the-ground difference and be turned into happiness and hope through Mary’s Meals.”
Matt is encouraging the public to support the Meals Deals campaign today and says,
“For me, food is always about bringing people together. And Mary’s Meals is doing that by showing that even the smallest of donations can connect people here in the UK and hungry children across the world, by providing them with a nutritious meal and hope for a better tomorrow.”
How to get involved
A regular supermarket meal deal gives you a sandwich, snack and drink. But Meals Deals offers so much more. Could you help to transform a child’s life by swapping a meal deal for a £4 donation to Mary’s Meals?
Help support children like Samar today by donating via the website.
News shared by Philipa on behalf of Mary’s Meals. Ed
