Sainsbury’s has started a new partnership with the Department for Education to support free breakfast clubs in schools across the UK. The programme will help up to 180,000 children who often arrive at school without eating in the morning.
As part of the plan, 750 schools will receive a £200 Sainsbury’s gift card. Schools can use this to buy simple, healthy breakfast items such as porridge, fruit, and wholegrain bread. The idea is to make sure children start the day with enough energy to learn and feel comfortable in the classroom.
Teachers and charities have been talking about this problem for some time. Many schools say more children are coming to class hungry. Some children skip breakfast because food at home is limited. Some may skip it simply because mornings are rushed. Whatever the reason, schools are seeing the impact.
For Sainsbury’s, this is not a one-time action. The retailer has a long record of supporting communities and food access programmes. It has also worked with charities like Comic Relief, helping to provide meals for families facing food insecurity. This new partnership fits into that wider work.
The Department for Education’s free breakfast club programme is still growing. The £200 support from Sainsbury’s is targeted at early adopter schools first. The retailer will contact those schools directly with instructions on how to use the gift cards.
Schools will choose the breakfast items themselves. The focus is on simple, nutritious foods that are easy to serve and that children will eat. There is no set menu, and each school can decide how to best support its students.
For the retail sector, this move highlights how supermarkets are taking a larger role in community wellbeing. It also shows how public and private organisations can work together on food access challenges.
The programme begins immediately. Eligible schools will receive details over the coming days.
