Breakfast Boxes

School Food Matters, Impact on Urban Health and Chefs in Schools are not food aid charities. But when the pandemic hit and schools were forced to close, the three partners recognised that they could make a difference to families experiencing financial crisis and food insecurity. Together they devised the Breakfast Boxes programme, providing nutritionally balanced breakfasts to children in Lambeth and Southwark. In week one, School Food Matters delivered 4,760 breakfasts to children across 8 schools. By week three that had risen to a staggering 31,610 breakfasts across 44 schools, such was the level of need. It was also in week three, having learned that one in four of the families needing help were not able to access the government’s free school meals vouchers, Chefs in Schools stepped in to provide lunch hampers. The Breakfast Boxes programme ran throughout the summer holidays and was reinstated when schools were forced to close again in January 2021. By the time schools returned in March 2021, the three charities had delivered one million nutritious breakfasts and over 240,000 lunches. Together they are now turning their attention to tackling health inequalities so that families have a better chance of enjoying happy and healthy lives.