http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/20...ool-breakfasts
Quote:
A few minutes spent leafing through the forms sent to charities by schools hoping to get funding to provide pupils with free breakfasts builds up a vivid picture of how teachers all over the country are struggling to help ill-fed children who come into school hungry.
Charities that fund breakfast clubs in schools report a dramatic increase in applications from teachers across the UK, for financial support to help them set up or expand existing provision of subsidised breakfast. They believe the rise is at least in part the result of the financial crisis and of the government's austerity drive, which has seen benefits payments frozen or cut.
Carmel McConnell is founder and director of the charity Magic Breakfast, which already funds pre-school clubs in 210 schools, selected because all have more than 50% of pupils receiving free school meals. It helps feed 6,000 pupils. She said there had been a sharp rise in demand since the recession; at the beginning of 2009, the charity was working in just 149 schools and had a waiting list of 20-30 schools who wanted help. Over the past year the waiting list has grown to over 100.
McConnell thinks the charity will be helping at least 250 schools by the end of the year.
Her experience is echoed by other charities working in this area. Ken McMeikan, chief executive of Greggs, the bakers, which also helps provide breakfasts for pupils in deprived areas, says: "When I joined in 2008, we did 120 breakfast clubs. We are running to stand still."
He said the company was already sponsoring 191 clubs, helping to feed 9,000 children and had a waiting list of another 100 clubs. "I can remember when that was probably nearer to 30 or 40. My impression is that the numbers are rising. Inevitably one of the things that gets cut back in family budgets when times are tough is food." Kellogg's, which runs similar services through the charity Continyou, said they had also seen an increase in the numbers of schools asking for support.
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Blimey, I was joking about Greggs free breakfast earlier on .....
