More than 30,000 healthy breakfasts provided to Sheffield kids over summer to fight holiday hunger

Magic Breakfast is helping upwards of 1,000 kids from 12 schools in the city during the six-week holiday by delivering breakfast packs to help youngsters start the day right.

Working nationally, Magic Breakfast is the UK’s leading charity for breakfast provision and usually supports 2,720 children from 20 schools in Sheffield and around 170,000 kids across England and Scotland.

Alice Chamberlain from the organisation said: “This has been another tough year, not least for children at risk of hunger in the UK. While Magic Breakfast traditionally supports children schools in Sheffield during term time, we know these same children are likely to be at risk of hunger during the holidays too.

“We hope 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.”

A 2020 YouGov survey of teachers, commissioned by Magic Breakfast, found 64 per cent of respondents from schools with high levels of disadvantage noticed less advantaged pupils falling behind academically after the summer holidays.

Additionally, 83 per cent of teachers in schools with above average levels of disadvantage felt school breakfasts would help children catch up on learning.

A report from Sheffield City Council, published in 2020, found more than a quarter – 26.5 per cent – of children in the city were living in poverty in 2019.

That figure was much higher in some wards and as much as 53 per cent in Burngreave.