Fashion 4 Food are proud to support School Food Matters, a registered charity (England and Wales: 1134094) who work to provide education about food and access to healthy food during children’s time at school.
Fashion 4 Food supports the Healthy Zones programme which supports 45 schools to prioritise healthy food throughout the school day with several London areas. Key actions within this program include introducing meat-free days, swapping pastries for healthier yoghurts and creating healthier after school club menus.
The Impact
- Providing school breakfasts free to all children in disadvantaged English primary schools helps pupils to make two months’ additional progress over the course of a year (IFS 2016).
- Pupils in secondary school who consume breakfast regularly achieve, on average, two grades higher in key exams than young people who rarely eat breakfast (Adolphus et al 2019).
- These differences in attainment are due to being properly nourished to learn. When asked about children coming to school hungry, 88% of teachers reported pupils being excessively tired, 84% reported them being easily distracted, and 74% observed disruptive behaviour (Chefs in Schools, 2022). (And of course – better behaviour in the classroom benefits everyone’s learning, not just those children eating breakfast at school.)
- Skipping breakfast is associated with stress, anxiety, and depression in adolescents (McGill et al 2020).
- When schools offer breakfast, there are improvements in punctuality and attendance (IFS 2016).
School Food Matters was founded in 2007 borne out of a grassroots campaign which transformed school meals for 38 schools in the London Borough of Richmand and has since expanded to advocate and fund school food programs across London.
For more information you can visit the School Food Matters website | www.schoolfoodmatters.org
