Sainsbury’s has partnered with the Department for Education (DfE) on their free breakfast club programme, offering early adopter schools a £200 gift card to support healthy breakfast provision.

Up to 180,000 school children across the UK are set to benefit from the initiative which will see 750 early adopter schools provided with access to gift cards from the retailer.

The move comes at a time when many students are arriving at school without having had a healthy, balanced breakfast to help fuel their day.

Research from charity Barnardo’s revealed up to 30% of children skip breakfast regularly, coming to school on an empty stomach, whilst 20% of teachers have reported that the number of children who are too hungry to learn has increased.

Simon Roberts, CEO of Sainsbury’s said ”Every child deserves access to affordable and nutritious food to help them thrive, but we know far too many arrive at school without a balanced breakfast to fuel their day.

“That’s why we are proud to be partnering with the Department for Education on their free breakfast clubs, offering the early adopter schools £200 vouchers to support healthy breakfast provision.”

Eligible schools will be contacted directly by Sainsbury’s over the coming days with details of how to activate their gift cards.

These can then be used to buy a choice of healthy, nutritious breakfast foods such as porridge, fruit and high-fibre wholegrain breads.

Roberts added: “We’re committed, at Sainsbury’s, to continuing to play our part in addressing this challenge until we’re confident that everyone across the country has access to joyful, affordable food every day.”

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