Magic Breakfast’s proposal to invest a further £75m from the Soft Drinks Industry Levy into breakfast provision aims to reach a total of 7,300 schools and nearly 900,000 pupils.
The Government has pledged to invest £24m into school breakfasts until 2023, but according to Magic Breakfast the funding will only provide limited support to 2,500 of the estimated 7,500+ schools who are eligible.
Magic Breakfast provides healthy breakfasts to over 200,000 children at risk of hunger in schools across England and Scotland. The food charity believes that ‘no child is too hungry to learn’.
Rachael Anderson, head of schools at Magic Breakfast, said: “You can't level up education on an empty stomach. Free school breakfast is proven to lead to long term attainment and economic benefits. Our plan would help make the Government’s levelling up a reality not a theory in communities hardest hit during the pandemic.”
A recent survey on 750 schools found that 79% of schools believe child hunger has increased in their community in the last year and 89% believe poverty has increased. Over 40% of schools reported increased take up of breakfast provision as a result of families being negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Schools reported the positive impacts of school breakfast:
- Improved concentration (94%)
- Readiness to learn (96%)
- Educational attainment (81%)
- Mental and emotional wellbeing (81%)
Magic Breakfast youth campaigner Rowan, 15, added: "I have gone days where I didn’t get the chance to eat breakfast, and the breakfast I got in the morning at school for free changed my outlook on school because I would not sit in class hungry. We're asking the Chancellor to take action so no more children like me have to experience hunger as a barrier to learning.”
Magic Breakfast are asking members of the public to support the campaign by emailing their local MP.