The child's words that reveal the truth of how schoolkids in Manchester are going to school hungry
manchestereveningnews.co.ukWhen she looks back on her time as a vice-principal at a secondary school in north Manchester, there's one memory that sticks in Patsy Hodson's mind.
A young pupil who'd barely reached puberty, sprinting back to school after realising he'd forgotten to take home the free food parcel staff had prepared for his family. "The very fact he came back and the way he seemed so anxious about it made me realise he couldn't have had much money," recalls Patsy, who left her role at Manchester Communication Academy in Harpurhey this week. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. "I asked him how much money he had and he said 'nothing' - he was going 'round to a neighbour's after school who were helping out. "We gave him the food package and some cash to take home to his family.
He seemed so happy and relieved. I'll never forget what he said. He beamed and said to me: 'I'll be able to see my mum's teeth all week.'" This encounter was just before the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Since then, Patsy says the situation became so bad, the school had to implement several schemes just to make sure their pupils can eat.
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