A lifeline for hungry children

Every day in the UK, around 1.8 million school age children are at risk of hunger in the morning. Through no fault of their own, these children would normally be going to school with empty stomachs, too hungry to concentrate on their lessons.

For over six years, players of People’s Postcode Lottery have raised more than an incredible £2 million to help the charity ensure children are fed and ready to learn at the start of the school day. The need has never been greater than now.

At this unprecedented time of crisis, Magic Breakfast has been a lifeline for vulnerable children who often have no food at home. With the closure of schools, and increased financial instability for many families, support for children at risk of hunger has been needed more than ever. Committed as ever to feeding hungry mouths, Magic Breakfast and their food and delivery partners have stepped up to respond to the crisis.

With the help of funds awarded by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, Magic Breakfast has been Keeping Breakfast Going for thousands of children in Scotland and England, by providing them with take-home breakfast packs via their schools and delivering food parcels to families’ homes – and for the first time, have continued this vital support for all the charity’s partner schools who requested it, during the summer holidays too.

Thanks to the players of People’s Postcode Lottery, this year over 3,000 vulnerable children have received these lifeline packs of nutritious breakfast food, consisting of cereal and/or porridge, bagels, milk vouchers, and beans.

This simply wouldn’t have been possible without the funds players raise.

"Thank you for your ongoing support throughout the last five months in particular. Our families have benefited significantly," said one headteacher in Scotland.

As Scottish children return to school, and English schools look to reopen, more children than ever need help. Magic Breakfast recently published a YouGov survey of UK teachers, highlighting the impact of hunger on children’s learning during the pandemic.

In schools with higher levels of disadvantage, 64% of teachers feared a rise in hunger in children returning to school after the summer holiday, and 79% of teachers believe hunger will harm efforts to catch children up on the learning they missed out on due to school closures. But 83% of teachers believe school breakfasts will help children catch up. Magic Breakfast is helping to reach as many of these children as possible with healthy breakfasts, helping them catch up on their lost learning.