Foodbank  supports programs that give students the opportunity to eat a wholesome, nutritious breakfast on a regular basis. Having breakfast has been shown to have a positive impact on factors such as physical and mental health, social skills, concentration, behaviour, attendance and academic outcomes.

Read more below about how Foodbank helps schools in your state.

Eating breakfast means kids have better focus and concentration, improved physical health, and increased attendance and performance at school. Hear from some of our Member Charities and schools from different regions across the state about the impact of Foodbank’s School Breakfast Program.

Lockyer Valley
In the Lockyer Valley Region, Foodbank Queensland currently provides fresh fruit, bread, milk, and cereal to 10 schools. With the support of our local Member Charity, ADRA Lockyer Food Pantry Gatton, these schools can run breakfast clubs all year round to help ensure children receive the healthy breakfasts they need to grow, learn, and thrive.

Doug Espie, Lockyer District State High School Chaplain said “Our school has been incredibly blessed by the work of Foodbank. Each week we provide breakfast for hundreds of students who may otherwise miss out. The need is significant, and the difference is tangible. We can’t thank you enough for the simple yet powerful difference that Foodbank has made to our school.”

Far North Queensland
Burketown State School, a primary school located in an isolated Far Northwest Queensland town, recently began a Foodbank school breakfast program to help combat the challenge of school attendance.

Chris Ford, Burketown State School Principal, said with the help of Foodbank, they can now provide a healthy breakfast five days a week for up to 40 students, nearly the whole school, to give children the best start to their school day.

“Many students wouldn’t come to school because they had nothing to eat for breakfast and had no lunch to bring to school. When we received our first delivery from Foodbank, it made such a difference in reducing the barriers children face when coming to school,” Chris said.

Brisbane
With the support of Foodbank Queensland, Nexus Care, a frontline charity based in Everton Park, supports five local school breakfast programs, providing a nutritious breakfast to approximately 500 children a week. Suki O’Dea, Nexus Care Community Programs Coordinator said their Brekky Clubs offer students a selection of milk, fruit, yoghurt, and hot items such as toasties and pancakes.

“We would be unable to run our Brekky Clubs without the food provided by Foodbank. Each Monday we collect 65kg of bananas for this program and without fail, every week I have the admin staff from one primary school tell me that their students say the Foodbank bananas are the best they have ever tasted. And they are very adamant about that – nothing tastes better than a Foodbank banana!  

“At this school, the bananas are delivered early on a Tuesday morning and available from the office all week, often providing not only a breakfast, but also a lunch and sometimes afternoon tea as well,” she said. 

During the first week of the floods, Nexus Care struggled to source enough food for their food relief programs. “Nexus Care has relied on Foodbank this week as we’ve managed product shortages and price increases. By way of example, we are paying 30% more for eggs this week, compared to two weeks ago and sourcing quality fresh produce within budget has been a challenge. Somehow Foodbank even managed to get bananas, just in time, for our Brekky Clubs,” Suki said.

Eating breakfast means kids have better focus and concentration, improved physical health, and increased attendance and performance at school.

Sandra, Somerset Hills State School Chaplain, said “There are students who always come to school on Breakfast Club Day, when their attendance at other times is poor. Some children can noticeably concentrate better on Breakfast Club days because they have eaten a decent breakfast that morning.”

Logan
Sherron, Deputy Principal at Park Ridge Primary School, said “They are not on the same playing field as the students that have come to school with breakfast. We’ve found that students who start the school day with a healthy breakfast engage a lot more throughout the day in the classroom.”

Foodbank Queensland works closely with hundreds of Queensland schools to provide more than 3.3 million school breakfast meals across the state every year.

James’s Story
Like many kids across Queensland, James often goes to school hungry. After a difficult year, James’s parents are struggling to put food on the table. James tries his best, but he finds it difficult to concentrate in class when all he can feel is his tummy rumbling.

Foodbank Queensland’s School Breakfast Program is vital for so many kids like James.

Eating breakfast helps kids like James thrive.