Glasgow pupils in school meals bid to tackle poverty

All Glasgow schools are taking part in the 'step up to the plate' initiative

School pupils in Glasgow are taking part in a project to provide more than 250,000 meals for children in Malawi.

For every school dinner purchased over the next two days, five more will be provided by Mary's Meals for children in the southern African country.

The charity's efforts will be funded by Cordia - an arms-length council body which runs the city's school catering.

The 'step up to the plate' initiative is being run in all of Glasgow's 204 school canteens.

Founder and chief executive of Mary's Meals, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow‎, said: "By partnering with Cordia, we hope to raise awareness of the daily challenges faced by many of the world's poorest children and give Glasgow pupils the opportunity to make a real difference.

"We are aware many schools already use Mary's Meals and our school resources as a context for learning.

"Mary's Meals is a simple concept - it is not only feeding children, but it is also allowing children to attend school and be educated, which can set them free from poverty in later life."

The charity currently provides more than 526,000 meals to school children in 16 countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Eastern Europe.