Weber Shandwick joins forces with the food foundation on Marcus Rashford’s #writenow campaign 

Published

  • Weber Shandwick to provide pro bono support to The Food Foundation in its latest move to highlight the issue of child food poverty
  • #WriteNow campaign launched to encourage general public to contact their MPs and call for urgent action, supported by Marcus Rashford MBE
  • New data shows that 15 per cent of households with children have experienced food insecurity in the past six months as economic impact of pandemic deepens

Weber Shandwick has joined forces with The Food Foundation to provide PR and digital support for the latest campaign launched by Marcus Rashford. The #WriteNow campaign represents the latest phase of #ENDCHILDFOODPOVERTY, one of the most influential campaigns of 2020.

 

So far the campaign has seen the formation of a Child Food Poverty Task Force, a parliamentary petition signed by over 1m people, and ultimately, the announcement of a Government funding package to help alleviate child food poverty.

 

This latest phase will encourage the general public to write to their MP via Rashford’s website, endchildfoodpoverty.org, to support three major recommendations in the National Food Strategy to help alleviate the increase of food insecurity being experienced by millions of UK households with children. Supported by the #ENDCHILDFOODPOVERTY task force, NGOs and influencers, the campaign will signpost people to the campaign website where they can write to their local MP ahead of the Government Spending Review in October.

 

The campaign launches today (Monday, 6 September) with earned and social media elements developed and executed by Weber Shandwick in partnership with The Food Foundation. Weber Shandwick has built a specialism in sustainability and social purpose in recent years, having led global and national campaigns in this area for Iceland, Nespresso, Flora and Fauna International and Comic Relief.

 

Speaking about the campaign, Marcus Rashford said: “Whilst we’ve come a long way in the last 20 months, placing the issue of child food poverty at the forefront, devastatingly, the issue is getting worse not better.

 

“The entire nation got behind the national team this Summer so let’s put these figures in football terms: You can fill 27 Wembley stadiums with the 2.5 million children that are struggling to know where their next meal might be coming from today.

 

“I am, today, pledging my support for three recommendations from Part 2 of the National Food Strategy. I hope that we see the required investment pledged during the Autumn Spending Review. I will be writing to my MP about it, and I would encourage you all to do the same. It will take many of us to stand together on this, and show we care about reaching those most in need in our communities.”

 

Heather Blundell, Managing Director, UK Client Counsel said: “We were so moved by the work of Marcus and The Food Foundation last year and are delighted to support with this important campaign tackling one of the most critical issues in the UK today. The global pandemic has had a devastating impact on millions of families across the UK, with many more now facing food insecurity, and we feel privileged to be supporting Marcus and team to help stabilise the situation for some of our most vulnerable children.”

 

The #WriteNow campaign launches today, further details and the link to write to your own MP can be found at endchildfoodpoverty.org/write-now