The former One Direction member shared his own story of benefiting from free school lunches while growing up in a working-class family in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Photo: Filepic
Former British boy band One Direction member Zayn Malik has penned an open letter to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, appealing to him to provide free school meals “to all children living in poverty”.
In the letter posted on Facebook and Instagram on Monday (Nov 7), the 29-year-old British singer called on Sunak to extend the threshold of the programme to include children from families on the Universal Credit benefit scheme.
Born to an immigrant Pakistani Muslim father and a white British mother of English and Irish descent, the heartthrob also shared his own story of benefiting from free school lunches while growing up in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in a working-class family and neighbourhood.
“These children are suffering from lack of concentration, some even resorting to stealing food from school canteens because they are so hungry but can’t afford to buy lunch,” he wrote.
“They are also feeling shame which is directly impacting their physical and mental health. I know what that shame feels like, I have seen it first-hand, as growing up in Bradford, I relied on free school meals. I personally experienced the stigma surrounding food insecurity.”
Malik has a two-year-old daughter with his ex-girlfriend, American model Gigi Hadid, 27.
He recently took on the role of ambassador for The Food Foundation, a British charity which deals with food policies, including children’s diets.
According to the foundation, an estimated 800,000 children in Britain living in poverty do not qualify for free school meals.
“My hope is that in writing this letter, we can all ensure that no child ever has to experience this hunger and stigma again as my experience is not unique; it is a struggle that many children in England are sadly going through right now,” he wrote.
Malik is the latest British personality to call for wider access to free school meals, joining football star Marcus Rashford and celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.
Addressing Sunak and the upcoming Budget on Nov 17, Malik added: “As prime minister, you have the power to change this. Children going hungry is not inevitable and should not come down to a political issue or ideology.” – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
