The joint letter to Education Secretary Gavin Williamson and Schools Minister Vicky Ford points to recent figures from the Food Foundation that show around 2m children across the UK are directly experiencing some level of food insecurity or hunger.
It says that before the Covid-19 lockdown, 1.3m children in England were eligible for benefit-related free school meals; a further 1.4m families have applied for Universal Credit since the start of the outbreak.
Their efforts have now been supported by Christina’s online petition.
She says: “My name is Christina, I’m 16 and live in London. Like 1.3m other children in the UK, I get free school meals. They are the difference between whether kids eat or not. Now those of us who desperately rely on them are being told they will be taken away during school holidays.
“That’s why I’m urgently calling on the Government not to abandon children by taking away lunches during half-term and to commit to feeding them over the holidays. Please help by signing.
“A few weeks ago, Boris Johnson took steps to make sure that young people like me could get a decent lunch while schools were closed, including over the Easter holidays. But now the Prime Minister has decided to take away support over May half term.
“We are now in our eighth week of lockdown, and with each week that passes the struggle to just get by and eat properly gets harder.
“Holiday periods can be a cause of distress as parents will try to figure out how to provide for their kids 24/7. Too many families are reaching breaking point right now.
“The Government is spending so much to protect businesses, and that’s the right thing to do. But surely we need to protect the health of children too?
“All kids have the right to get a decent lunch.
“I really believe that if enough of us ask Boris Johnson to commit to feeding 1.3m children in England over the holidays then he will do the right thing. Please sign my petition.”
You can find her petition by visiting: bit.ly/2LFqRzQ