Weetabix to provide free school breakfasts to disadvantaged children

Weetabix has announced a partnership with charity Magic Breakfast, offering free healthy school breakfasts to disadvantaged children in areas across England and Scotland.

The company will provide food donations and cover the delivery costs to the charity’s 480 partner schools.

Nearly two million breakfasts of Weetabix Original will be served to primary school children who are eligible for free school meals as part of this initiative, Weetabix said.

“No child should have to start their school day hungry, so I’m pleased to be invited to help more children enjoy the advantage of a healthy and nutritious breakfast,” commented Sally Abbott, managing director of Weetabix UK and Ireland.

“Our founders set up in Northamptonshire with the ambition to create ‘healthy minds in healthy bodies’, and I’m delighted that nearly ninety years on we continue to follow in their footsteps.”

A survey released by the Food Foundation earlier this month has shown that 2.4 million children are living in households that have had to compromise on the quantity of food they eat, skipped meals or gone hungry since March 2020.

Alex Cunningham, chief executive of Magic Breakfast, said: “This year children are returning to school in an incredibly challenging time and, with an increasing number of children arriving at school hungry, the importance of a nutritious school breakfast has never been so vital.

“We’re immensely grateful for Weetabix’s support, and their involvement couldn’t come at a more crucial time as a hungry child is simply not equipped to learn.”

A nine-year-old child previously helped by the scheme said: “You focus more on your belly hurting than you do on your learning if you haven't had breakfast."