Words by Smiley Team
Putting a smile on the faces of the many children facing food insecurity across the UK, children’s charity Magic Breakfast is marking its 20th anniversary by doubling support to schools and trebling its reach to hungry children.
Helping children to concentrate on their studies by tackling hunger, the organisation has boosted food provisions for an additional 120,000 young people and to over 500 extra schools.
This comes after the government ended its National School Breakfast Programme at the end of 2020. Among those stepping in to help, Magic Breakfast is supporting over a third of schools whose funding was cut because of this move.
The charity’s head of schools, Rachael Anderson, acknowledged: “This will no doubt be another challenging year. We know that Covid-19 has exacerbated food insecurity; many of our partner schools have reported notable increases in hunger and disadvantage in their communities, which is why it is vital that we reach as many children as we can with a healthy breakfast.”
While some vulnerable children will still attend school and have breakfast there, others can collect packed breakfasts, or have breakfasts delivered to their homes. The packs contain nutritious food such as bagels, beans, cereals or porridge, helping children to start their day with healthy, slow-release energy sources.
The UK’s leading charity providing breakfasts for children, Magic Breakfasts teams up with schools in disadvantaged areas of England and Scotland. Together they offer healthy breakfasts and expert support to ensure all children get the best chances possible at the start of their lives. Throughout 2020 they supported 48,000 children across 480 schools.
Their work has provided much relief to children in need but there remain thousands of children going hungry each day.
Anderson said: “With over 2 million children at risk of hunger in the UK, and the pandemic worsening, we are deeply concerned for the growing number of children who start each day without the confidence they will get the food they need.”
To build support for these children via Magic Breakfasts, you can make a donation via their website. As little as 34p can help provide a child’s breakfast and another good day of learning.
