Words by Smiley Team
Quaker Oats is donating up to half a million more breakfasts, on top of the 2.9 million pledged for the year ahead, to children’s food charity Magic Breakfast this winter in their new #FillABowl campaign.
Ahead of World Food Day, new research commissioned by Quaker, found 72% of parents think that not having a nutritious breakfast would negatively impact their child’s work at school.
Additionally, nearly a quarter of parents with children aged 4-16 are worried that their children will underperform in school without any breakfast.
To give children the fighting start they deserve, Quaker has also partnered with rapper turned campaigner Pro Green, to help the 2.5 million children in the UK still affected by child poverty.
(Read more about this charity fighting food poverty)
To help set up children for the day and help fuel their potentials, Pro Green joined staff at St John the Baptist Primary School in Hackney, a Magic Breakfast school, to serve out porridge and continue to raise more awareness of the issue ahead of World Food Day.
Pro Green said: “Growing up on free school meals myself as a kid, this campaign is incredibly close to my heart. I can’t quite believe children these days are still going hungry, missing out on breakfast, and therefore not setting themselves up for success before the day even starts. Quaker has already donated so much to Magic Breakfast over the past 12 years, and it is great to be a part of the Fill A Bowl campaign, to feed more school children’s futures and hopefully give them a solid start to the day.”
The extra half a million donations will help to fuel children’s potential, as nearly a third of parents believe their children find it harder to concentrate in school. Furthermore, 94% of schools said that concentration and energy levels had increased in class due to having breakfast.
Claire Molyneux, head of marketing at Quaker Oats said: “There is nothing better than knowing breakfast donations are helping to feed the fire inside of children and help them reach their full potential.”
(A new half price grocery store has opened to help families in the breadline)
To highlight the issue further, Quaker has taken the porridge off packs and replaced it with an empty red bowl, to symbolise the reality of food insecurity in the UK.
Emily Wilkie, head of fundraising at Magic Breakfast said: “It's vital for a child to feel settled and focused before they start their lessons and, particularly with the start of autumn and the colder weather, a warming bowl of porridge can have a magical effect.”
Just buying one special pack of Quaker Oat So Simple or Quaker Traditional Oats will help to provide up to an additional 500,000 breakfasts this winter, helping a child reach their full potential.The campaign is also encouraging people to #FillABowl on social media.
You can also help by making a donation online to support Magic Breakfast’s work. As little as £2 can help Magic Breakfast provide breakfast to a child for a whole week, and cover support costs.
