The KickStart Breakfast programme will tomorrow celebrate 10-years as the only national breakfast programme of its kind in Aotearoa, serving more than 30 million breakfasts since 2009.

Ministry of Social Development Deputy Chief Executive, Marama Edwards, says MSD and its partners were proud to see KickStart Breakfast grow from 400 schools serving breakfast two days a week in 2013 to more than 1,000 schools serving 30,000 breakfasts every day.

"We want to support child wellbeing and combat child poverty. That’s why Kickstart Breakfast is now available to any school in New Zealand that wants to participate. All children should be able to have a good nutritious start to their school day," says Ms Edwards.

"We would like to thank the thousands of volunteers who wake up early every day to set up their breakfast clubs. Without them KickStart Breakfast would not be a success."

KickStart Breakfast is a partnership between the Ministry of Social Development, Fonterra and Sanitarium. The Ministry of Social Development provides funding to run the programme and contributes to the cost of Fonterra Anchor milk and Sanitarium Weet-Bix.

Managing Director Fonterra Brands New Zealand, Brett Henshaw, says the programme is making a difference to the lives of everyday Kiwis.

"At Fonterra, we help out our communities whenever we can. Working in partnership enables us to give every child the best start to their day and an opportunity to learn. We are proud to be able to provide balanced goodness for generations to come, and to support bringing our communities together.

"A 2019 survey- showed 84% of schools reported an improvement in general health and well-being of students, with an additional 82% of schools seeing an improvement in class concentration levels. This highlights some of the many positive impacts KickStart Breakfast has on children. The programme also enables a safe and welcoming environment through KickStart Breakfast Clubs where children gain a sense of belonging by connecting with peers, teachers and members of the community."

General Manager Sanitarium New Zealand, Rob Scoines, says they are proud to be a part of an initiative making such a big difference.

"KickStart Breakfast is more than a nutritious start to the day, it is an enabler for wider reaching community, social and educational goals which set the stage for Kiwi children to reach their potential, which is core to Sanitarium’s purpose, he says.

"In the last twelve months, we’ve seen a 7% increase in schools signing up to KickStart Breakfast and we are looking forward to welcoming more schools onboard, so their students and community can experience the benefits of the programme too."

The KickStart Breakfast programme’s 10-year anniversary will be celebrated with an event at Panama Road School in Mount Wellington, Auckland. Special guests include the Prime Minister Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern and Minister for Social Development Hon Carmel Sepuloni.

ENDS

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