Following the government’s vote against Marcus Rashford’s initiative to provide free school meals during the holidays, Orpington restaurant Pato Lounge has stepped up, announcing a scheme in which customers can donate meals to local children in need.
The news of the Tory refusal to extend school meals has dominated headlines this week, with 317 Conservative MPs voting against the scheme, including MP for Orpington, Gareth Bacon.
Although this decision has caused an eruption of public anger, a sense of much needed community spirit has also been created. With the weekly Clap for the NHS now merely a memory, hundreds of restaurants up and down the country have decided to do something more tangible by creating schemes that help to feed the 2.5 million children in the UK living in food insecure households – a job the government instead seems to wash their hands of every week.
Pato Lounge in Orpington is one of the many restaurants seeking to aid local children experiencing food poverty. In a social media post on Monday, Pato Lounge introduced their scheme whereby anyone can donate a meal from the kids menu or a coffee for their parents. From this, a post-it note with the donated meal or drink written on it will be placed on a board visible to all customers, allowing those most in need, to use it.
Today, Pato Lounge posted a picture of this board which is now overflowing with donations due to the ‘overwhelming generosity from our customers’. The sense of community is heartwarming and the selflessness of businesses like Pato Lounge, who despite being hard hit by Covid 19, continue to think of others acts as a sharp contrast to the incompetency of the incumbent government.
If you or someone you know needs help in relation to food this half term, visit, call or email Pato Lounge who are willing to offer a helping hand free of judgement, during these difficult times.
Call: 01689891427
Email: pato@thelounges.co.uk
