300 pupils at Farringdon Academy in Sunderland are benefitting from a new breakfast club with a free nutritional meal to start the day, thanks to the newly launched partnership with Gentoo and the Greggs Foundation.
Farringdon Academy was successful in its bid for funding from the Greggs Foundation’s Breakfast Club Programme, which is being financially backed by Sunderland-based housing association, Gentoo.
Gentoo’s support for the Breakfast Club, which will reach 10 years thanks to the new partnership with Farringdon Academy, will see the school’s breakfast offering expanded to support 300 pupils. The school has also been able to benefit from Greggs’ grab and go breakfast trollies, which have enabled breakfast meals to be safely transported around the school during the pandemic, minimising mixing between pupils and preventing transmission of COVID-19.
School children at the academy receive a healthy meal before the school day begins, preparing them for the day ahead, with hot and cold options such as toast, low sugar cereal, fruit, yoghurt, juice and milk.
The Breakfast Club at Farringdon School also aims to encourage pupils to socialise and engage with staff, giving them the best start to the day. The school has also seen an improvement in the number of pupils getting to school on time, to attend the breakfast club and grab something to eat before they start their day.
Thanks to the partnership, staff at Farringdon Academy were also able to offer festive food hampers to pupils and families at Christmas – something which was greatly received.
Claire McDermott, Headteacher at Farringdon Academy, said:
“We are so grateful to Gentoo and the Greggs Foundation for their support. We have wanted to create a breakfast club like this for a while and this new partnership is going to make such a difference to our pupils. We have already seen an improvement in punctuality and productivity thanks to the breakfast meal on offer. It’s also a great opportunity for the pupils to socialise before starting their school day. On behalf of everyone at the school, I would like to say a huge thank you.”
Nigel Wilson, Chief Executive Officer at Gentoo, added:
“Gentoo is delighted to create this new partnership with Farringdon Academy through the Greggs Foundation’s Breakfast Club. We know we have a large number of tenants living in the area whose children attend the school, and we are pleased to support them through the new breakfast club.
“We have supported this programme for almost 10 years now, and it is so important for school children to start their school day with a full stomach. A healthy breakfast gives children the best possible start to their day and the chance to fulfil their potential in school. We are delighted to be making such a difference to their lives.”
Lynne Hindmarch, Breakfast Club Manager for the Greggs Foundation, said:
“No child should ever start their day without breakfast, which is why we’re delighted to be opening a new Breakfast Club at Farringdon Academy, thanks to the extremely generous support and funding of Gentoo.
“Through Clubs such as this, we’re able to support over 45,000 children each school day nationally, and new openings like the one at Farringdon Academy are helping us to continue heading towards reaching our target of serving 70,000 breakfasts each school day by 2025.”
The Greggs Foundation has provided over 8.5 million free breakfasts in 2021, thanks to sponsors across the nation, including Gentoo Group.
To provide a free breakfast and support the programme, customers at Greggs can donate 25p when making a purchase in store to help a child in need.
