Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson and the club's top scorer Wayne Rooney have paid tribute to Marcus Rashford for the forward's role in tackling child food poverty in England amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rashford, 23, has been at the forefront of a campaign to end child food poverty, using his status to successfully lobby the British government to continue providing free school meals during the holidays.

He was also awarded Queen's Birthday honours for services to vulnerable children amid the COVID-19 crisis.

"What he has achieved in the last few months is quite astonishing," Ferguson, who led United to 13 Premier League titles, told the Football Writers' Association after they named Rashford the winner of their annual Tribute Award on Thursday.

"How he has helped the people in need is a truly amazing achievement. I would like to congratulate him on that. He has shown to young people, in particular, there is a different way of dealing with life."

Rooney, now interim manager at second-tier Derby County, echoed Ferguson's comments, saying the work Rashford did in challenging the government was "unbelievable".

"It's a big issue and a tough time for everyone, so for him to get that campaign up and running and (organise) free meals for the children is massive," Rooney added.

"It has needed the backing of someone like Rashford to get behind that and make sure the kids know, whatever happens, they won't go hungry. It's incredible and I think it's a huge achievement for him."