MOTHER knows best when it comes to cooking Christmas dinner: she came top in a quiz when 2000 people in the UK were asked by the school feeding charity Mary’s Meals (Feature, 29 May 2015) whom they most wanted to prepare their festive meal.

Given a choice of cook, 46 per cent of respondents opted for a family member, compared with 21 per cent who would choose a celebrity chef. Of the total, 36 per cent picked Mum, six per cent chose Dad, and just three per cent an in-law. Grandmothers scored two per cent, grandfathers one per cent.

Mary’s Meals undertook the survey to highlight its virtual Christmas dinner, Big Family Christmas, which each December raises funds to feed hungry children. The charity’s appeal says that a donation of £15.90 will feed a child for a whole school year. Donors will receive a certificate to print at home, and their name, or the name of a loved one, will appear on the charity’s virtual dinner table alongside names from around the world.

Donations made before 31 January 2022 will be matched by a group of supporters, up to £1.6 million, through the campaign Double the Love. Last year, nearly 9000 people around the world took part.

Mary’s Meals serves a nutritious meal every school day to more than two million children in 19 of the world’s poorest countries, including Malawi, South Sudan, and Haiti. The promise of a good meal attracts children to the classroom, giving them the energy and opportunity to learn, and brighter chances for the future.

Yasimini, aged 14, is among one million children in Malawi who each receive a mug of porridge every school day. Two of her four sisters were married young, but she was able to continue with her studies because of Mary’s Meals.

The head of grass-roots engagement at Mary’s Meals, Emma Hutton, said: “’Tis the season to be jolly, and it seems nothing makes us jollier than a home-cooked Christmas meal. At Mary’s Meals, we want to spread that joy to as many of the world’s most impoverished children as possible.”

marysmeals.org.uk/Christmas