Hard-up parents, brothers and sisters are joining pupils at one in five of the schemes run by charity Magic Breakfast.
Founder Carmel McConnell said: ‘More and more schools are giving out food to parents and siblings. Families have seen the cost of food rise and rise while wages have stayed the same.
‘You hear some people talk about whether they can eat or heat their homes and of teachers bringing in food for pupils.
‘Schools feeding families may not just help the pupil but also help parents to better understand good nutrition and pass that on to their children.’
The charity’s breakfasts – which include bagels, porridge, orange juice and cereals – are available in schools where more than 40 per cent of pupils are eligible for free meals.
‘Hungry children find it very difficult to concentrate and access an education. A lot of them may not have had anything since dinner, or even lunch the day before.’
Oasis Academy Connaught, in one of Bristol’s most deprived areas, now feeds more than 70 pupils and their families since starting a breakfast club in September. Learning mentor Faye Morgan said:
‘No child, regardless of their background, should go without a hearty breakfast.’
Meanwhile, the Archbishop of York warned ‘food banks are here to stay’, claiming Britain was grappling with a ‘new and terrible’ growth in poverty. Dr John Sentamu said he was shocked to read about a rise in hospital admissions for malnutrition in his diocese.
He added: ‘How can it be that last year more than 27,000 people were diagnosed as suffering from malnutrition in Leeds – not Lesotho, not Liberia, not Lusaka, but Leeds?’
Metro
