A Christmas campaign launched by Marcus Rashford and Tom Kerridge to tackle child food poverty has raised almost £200,000.
After the Manchester United and England star – who has first collaborated with the acclaimed TV foodie and two-Michelin Star chef on the ‘National Food Strategy’ earlier last year, the pair teamed up once again to launch the Full Time Meals campaign in aid of the food redistribution charity, FareShare, all the way back in April 2021.
The main aim of the campaign was to get children interested in cooking, and to help families prepare healthy meals on a budget.
As part of the project, Kerridge designed 52 recipes in 2021.
All recipes were available for free via a new video on Instagram every Sunday morning, as well as on recipe cards in supermarkets, schools, and food banks – with a QR code linking to the Full Time Meals social media page.
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Each recipe on the platform was easy to create, with limited equipment needed.
Tortilla pizzas, chicken satay stir fry, fish pie jackets, Mexican style chicken, broccoli & cauliflower cheese, creamy chicken pie, and fish finger butties were just some of the meals featuring on the Full Time Meals channel throughout the year.
This past Christmas, Rashford notably challenged Kerridge to create a Christmas dinner menu that only cost £10, as he said that his family “relied on the local food bank for our Christmas dinner” and he wanted to make it his mission to ensure even those using food vouchers would be able to enjoy something special.
Kerridge devised two healthy festive recipes that could feed six people across two days, on a sum that is relatively affordable for those on a budget.
It was revealed that FairShare distributed the equivalent of 122 million meals in the last financial year, but after having seen its demand double since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Rashford and Kerridge decided to make a special Christmas appeal for public contributions.
It saw people donate nearly £200,000 between 13-31 December.
The #FullTimeMeals Christmas appeal will help us provide 750,000 meals to vulnerable people.
The money raised by public donations will enable FairShare to provide an extra 750,000 meals to people in food poverty across the UK.
Kerridge said that the pair were “super chuffed” at reaching the milestone.
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“You lot really rallied to help families this winter. Absolute legends,” Kerridge added on Twitter.
Featured Image – Full Time Meals
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Open UK casting call for new Harry Potter TV series announced
Thomas Melia
It may have been just over a year since rumours of the show had been confirmed, but now the search is officially on.
Harry Potter is one of the most successful and cherished franchises on screen, paper, and stage, and the book series by JK Rowling is the world’s number one best-selling in history, with over 600 million copies distributed across the globe.
The new original series adaptation will be produced by the American television network, HBO, known for its involvement in huge dramas like Game Of Thrones and Euphoria.
Currently, the show is looking for UK actors to audition for one of the three wizarding friends.
These roles were originally played by the now Hollywood-greats, Daniel Radcliffe, who starred as Harry Potter, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley.
Recently, Francesca Gardiner – known for her work on Killing Eve and Succession, was announced as the showrunner, and she will oversee all the writing and producing of the show, with full creative control.
In the description for these leading roles, a statement reads: “We are committed to inclusive, diverse casting. For every role please submit qualified performers, without any regard to ethnicity, disability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity or any other basis protected by law unless otherwise specifically indicated.”
Although the statement pulled from the casting call is open to all actors, with no concern over their protected characteristics, this new original series may be affected by controversy surrounding the author, JK Rowling.
She has previously been criticised for her opinions on gender identity, especially in her condemnation of transgender people and the LGBTQ+ community.
Currently, producers are only considering children who are between the ages of 9-11 in April 2025, and the only way to officially apply is through the CastIt website here.
Applications must be submitted by a parent or legal guardian.
Featured Image – Warner Bros.
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Home Bargains announces Boxing Day and New Year’s Day store closures so staff can ‘relax’
Emily Sergeant
Home Bargains has announced it’ll be closing all its stores across the UK on both Boxing Day and New Year’s Day once again this year.
It’s to make sure staff get a “well-deserved break”.
After what has been yet another busy year for the retail industry, many workers have been left feeling like they could do with a little extra time off, which is why Home Bargains is following on with what has become its now-annual tradition of shutting up shop on two bank holidays.
Confirming the move in a post across all its social media platforms, the why discount retailer said: “All of our stores will be closing for Boxing Day and New Years Day.
“We would like to thank all our staff for how hard they have worked this past year, and want them to relax and enjoy the Christmas break with loved ones.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time the retailer has kept its doors shut on bank holidays.
Many shoppers will remember it made the same decision to give hardworking staff the days off in every year since 2019 – with 2020 and 2021 perhaps the most-needed as a break from the hectic working environments and schedules brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Explaining a little more about the decision taken to close all its stores, Home Bargains said: “As a family-run business, we know the importance of being together at Christmas with those we care about most, now more than ever.
“This is our way of saying thank you to our colleagues for their continued hard work and dedication.”
As it does pretty much every year, Home Bargains’ decision to close all stores on the two bank holidays again for this festive season has been met with lots of praise by customers online – with the retailer’s social media post having racked up tens of thousands of interactions.
Emily Sergeant -
6th January 2022 
