Students at Leopold Primary School had a visit from Education Minister James Merlino last week to celebrate the school’s breakfast club.
With breakfast clubs at schools across the state having served 20 million meals, Mr Merlino celebrated Leopold Primary School’s efforts to provide more than 10,500 meals to students since it began in term three 2020.
“Kids just can’t learn well on an empty stomach – and this program has made such a difference in the lives of many thousands of students who need a bit of extra support to have a nutritious, delicious meal every morning,” Mr Merlino said.
The School Breakfast Club program is a $58 million state government program delivered in partnership with Foodbank Victoria to provide free, healthy food for students at 1000 government schools.
South Barwon MP Darren Cheeseman also celebrated the impact of the program in the region.
He said over 15,000 meals had been delivered at Grovedale College and 8000 delivered at Armstrong Creek School.
Breakfast clubs at Moriac Primary School and Mandama Primary School have also both served approximately 3700 meals each.
Mr Cheeseman said feedback from schools had shown the program had benefits beyond making students happier and healthier, including improving students’ concentration and strengthening relationships between students and staff.
“The pandemic was profoundly challenging for many Victorian families – but we’re proud that our School Breakfast Clubs were able to step in to ease the pressure on families and make sure nobody is at school hungry,” Mr Cheeseman said.
