'Food For Kids' is Ensuring Full Tummies and So Much More - 96five Family Radio

‘Food For Kids’ is Ensuring Full Tummies and So Much More

It's the most important meal of the day for a reason and yet Brisbane kids are going without breakfast and suffering in classrooms as a result.

By 96five NetworkWednesday 28 Jun 2023Inspirational StoriesReading Time: 2 minutes

More than one in five children in Australia live in a food insecure household.

The cost-of-living crisis is continuing to impact households across Brisbane and unfortunately, school students aren’t immune.

Food for Kids is an initiative of Axis Church on Brisbane’s Northside which began in 2018 after learning of the number of children who arrive at school without lunch or who haven’t had breakfast.

96five’s General Manager Arthur Muhl caught up with Sandy Sayer who is the Program Coordinator at Food for Kids, which currently supports 10 schools in the Moreton Bay region.

“We have schools currently on waitlists” Sandy Sayer said.

“The need is growing. Pressure on families is getting greater and greater so there are most kids turning up at school that have not had breakfast or have not had lunch or both.”

Breakfast is often described as the most important meal of the day and there’s a good reason for that. Eating a nutritious breakfast has been shown to improve children’s behaviour at school, helping them to learn and retain information.

Poor eating can impair adolescent growth and development and research has found that a good nutritional profile can lead to sustained improved performance.

“The teachers tell us about how the kids are becoming engaged; they’re actually turning up for school because they know that when they get to school they’re going to get some breakfast and it creates a happy environment for them to come and start their day.

Food for Kids is currently looking for people to come on board to sponsor local schools. To learn more and to donate, get in touch via [email protected].

Feature Image: Sandy Sayer (second from left) with School Chaplains and volunteers at the Brissy Brekky Club at Lawnton State School