Children’s food charity Magic Breakfast is taking action against holiday hunger in Manchester this summer, by providing thousands of healthy breakfasts to schoolchildren at risk of hunger across the region so they have nutritious food to wake up to over the school holidays.
Magic Breakfast is the UK’s leading charity for breakfast provision. It partners with over 1,000 schools across England and Scotland to provide healthy breakfast food to around 170,000 hungry children each school day to ensure they start the day with the energy and nutrition they need to learn. The charity usually supports over 9,000 children across 68 schools in Greater Manchester.
This year, Magic Breakfast has offered free summer breakfast packs to children in all of its partner schools. The breakfast packs, consisting of healthy food including bagels, low sugar cereal and porridge, have been distributed to families in Manchester thanks to the help of Magic Breakfast’s generous supporters such as players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
By the time schools reopen in September, around 63,500 healthy breakfasts will have been delivered to 2,115 children from 43 schools in Greater Manchester. In total, over one million Magic Breakfasts will be distributed to around 35,000 children across the UK during the summer holidays.
Laura Chow, Head of Charities at People’s Postcode Lottery said: “I’m so pleased that players have helped enable Magic Breakfast to provide an incredible 63,500 breakfasts to children in Manchester this summer. Player support has allowed the charity to reach the most disadvantaged children, helping to fill empty tummies and combat holiday hunger.”
A teacher from a Magic Breakfast partner school said: “We have a good deal of children who rely on school for their breakfast. We know that lots come to school hungry and with empty tummies. By signing up to holiday provision, we know that these children will have access to a nutritious breakfast at home in the holidays, just like they get at school.”
Alice Chamberlain, Head of Trusts and Foundations at Magic Breakfast said: “This has been another tough year, not least for children at risk of hunger in the UK. While Magic Breakfast traditionally supports Manchester’s children during term time, we know that these same children are likely to be at risk of hunger during the holidays too. So we are delighted that we’ve been able to offer breakfast packs to all children in our partner schools over the holidays, and are very grateful to players of People’s Postcode Lottery for their generous support enabling us to do so. We hope that receiving a healthy breakfast will help alleviate some of the struggles families are facing, and that it helps nourish children so when schools reopen the children are ready to learn.”
