Free school meals handed out to children in Wolverhampton after £1,000 raised
A Wolverhampton bar and grill has served breakfast to hungry school children over half term after more than £1,000 was raised by generous donors.
People across Wolverhampton came together to donate after Parkfield Central Bar & Grill offered food to youngsters for £1.
But residents have generously come forward to pay the cost to feed the children in need – raising above £1,000 to keep children fed.
It comes after a campaign was launched by England footballer Marcus Rashford to feed school children over half-term – leading to a Labour motion being voted down by the Government.
Chammi Hothi, manager and co-owner of the Martin Street site, said: "We're a community at the end of the day – if we can help we will, it's a no-brainer.
Phenomenal
"We never actually asked for donations at the start – we put a post up saying food for kids would be £1 and we asked people to come in to get them fed.
"I got a message from a regular who said 'Can I give you £20 to feed as many kids as you can?' and now we've raised more than £1,000 for them.
"We offered them a breakfast at the cafe in the morning. We said to people bring your children in and don't feel any shame – and we did it free for every child that came in."
The 46-year-old said: "It's been phenomenal. We offered it for £1 because we know the world is changing and we've said people shouldn't feel any embarrassment.
"I posted it and then local firms, businesses and people – everyone in Wolverhampton who came in – came forward to donate. It's been phenomenal – that's the community for you."
Extra money left over through the donations will be handed to another good cause – due to lockdown – or it will be used to bring some joy to youngsters at Christmas.
