Cost of Aussie Kids Missing Breakfast - NFP Report

An examination of national Not for Profit school breakfast program has put a dollar value on the social impact the program has delivered.

Foodbank’s School Breakfast Program reaches more than 20,000 students annually.

According to early findings from Foodbank’s Social Return on Investment Report, for every kilogram of food provided to a child via a school breakfast program in Australia, there is the equivalent of $110 of social value in terms of improved physical health and school performance.

The report, described as a comprehensive investigation into the value of tackling food insecurity in Australia, is a first for the Not for Profit hunger relief organisation and will be released in full later this year.

Foodbank CEO Jason Hincks said the report highlighted the impact of something as simple as breakfast could have on a child’s day and their general wellbeing.

He said Foodbank’s School Breakfast Program reaches more than 20,000 students annually and, according to the modelling set out in Foodbank’s report, generates $84.5 million in social value in the form of better performance at school, as well as improved physical health.

The release of the preliminary findings coincides with long-term Foodbank supporter Kellogg’s Australia announcing its commitment to donate six million serves of cereal to the organisation in conjunction with a $100,000 donation to help Foodbank expand the reach of its nationwide Foodbank School Breakfast Program.

The most recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that one in seven children in Australia arrives in the classroom each day without breakfast.

“There’s no doubt the six million serves of breakfast cereal will meet an immediate need, while the Social Return on Investment Report shows the donation is so much more than that. Foodbank has plenty of anecdotal evidence, but this report puts a monetary value on the benefits of tackling social issues,” Hincks said.

“Without partners like Kellogg’s Australia, we wouldn’t be able to provide the 2,500 welfare agencies with staple food items such as cereal.

“The food industry’s surplus simply isn’t filling demand; while we receive significant volumes from companies with excess stock, this isn’t enough. We rely on corporate partnerships and donations such as this one,” Hincks said.