Earlier this week, St Michael’s Junior School in Twerton officially launched its new Breakfast Club initiative, alongside charity partner FareShare South West, in a bid to combat local food insecurity.
The school welcomed parents and students on Tuesday 30th April, to hear more about how the club will work and where the food for it will come from.
FareShare South West, a charity who take surplus, in-date, high quality food from across the food industry and redistribute it to some of the most vulnerable in the region, recently received a grant of £20,000 from the St John’s Foundation, allowing them to expand their work into the BANES area.
Twerton is an area of high deprivation, with 1 in 3 children living in poverty and 58% of pupils within St Michael’s Junior School receiving free school meals, with the national average at 15.5%.
St Michael’s Headteacher, Clare Greene, said: “FareShare will transform what we do at St. Michael’s. I can now offer free breakfast to all but also guarantee that all my pupils have a mid-morning snack so they are fuelled and ready for learning.
“We’d noticed many were coming to school hungry and did not have a snack to sustain them until their lunchtime.
“We’ve already been receiving some fresh food from FareShare South West in the past few weeks and already we are seeing the children try new things: hummus, celery and blueberries have been a real hit!
“The children now get excited to see the range of food we get in and I know that the Breakfast Club will fast become a favourite part of the day for many!
“As well as the Breakfast Club for all, we’re also going to be providing bags of shopping for families who may need a little extra support to provide nutritious meals in the evenings. I am proud of our partnership and rave about it to many!”
FareShare South West CEO, Julian Mines, added: “With 8.7 million people in the UK struggling to afford to eat and 4.7 million people living in severely food insecure home, it is unsurprising that children are going to school hungry and without the food they need to sustain them for a day of learning.
“We are delighted to partner with St Michael’s Junior School and play our part in supporting the children of Twerton to give them the best possible chance of success for their days at school.
“Twerton is one of a number of areas in BANES that struggles with high deprivation and resulting food insecurity.
“In response to the need, we have big plans to expand our provision across the BANES area and support more families and individuals to have access to a nutritious diet- saving hundreds of tonnes of good food from becoming waste in the process. We hope to have the support of the BANES community as we grow.”
For more information about FareShare South West and their work, visit: www.faresharesouthwest.org.uk.