Free brekkie fuels young minds

The nationwide Kickstart food initiative aims to help thousands of kids start each day without hunger pains, writes Nathan Crombie.
The nationwide Kickstart Breakfast scheme is boosting the healthy eating habits of thousands of schoolchildren and feeding others who arrive to class hungry.
Foodstuffs companies Fonterra and Sanitarium provide milk and cereal without charge under the scheme, which targets decile 1 to 4 schools and was launched nationally in 2008.
Rae McKenzie, co-ordinator of the Wairarapa Teen Parent Unit, said the KickStart Breakfast programme is "vital for some and a definitely welcome boost for others" and supplements an already-established daily menu at the facility, which is based in the grounds of Makoura College in Masterton.
"The cost of food is really high and a lot of our mothers are going without food for their children and coming to us hungry."
She said the wider menu also caters to a neighbouring childhood centre and comprises vegetables, fish, meats, pasta, bread and meals that are changed each month.
She said the KickStart foods fit perfectly at the shared facility, helping with the daily well-being of young mothers and children while also focusing on healthy nutrition and routines.
Masterton Primary School secretary Karen Brown co-ordinates the Kickstart breakfasts at the Masterton school which feeds up to 40 pupils at one sitting out of a roll of 200-plus children.
She said the breakfast is available to every child and has been expanded to include 15 loaves of bread donated each Monday by Breadcraft along with Milo, sugar and spreads funded through the Otaki Children's Health Camp.
Church and parent volunteers serve the breakfast, she said, which is essential for some pupils. The initiative is pitched to pupils as a breakfast club, open to all, "that offers them a hot drink and warm toast instead of an icy playground in the morning".
"There are kids getting to school hungry, so we draw no lines about who can come to breakfast so we're hopefully catching the needy ones."
The programme runs at 430 schools across New Zealand and involves more than 16,000 children a week, said Fonterra spokesman Kelvin Wickham.
He said the scheme has just reached the milestone of two million breakfasts served since it was launched.
Mr Wickham said the breakfast clubs operate within a sustainable community partnership model.
Sanitarium general manager Pierre van Heerden said participating schools have reported that their breakfast club children "are happier, have more energy and are able to concentrate more".
National Statistics
Total schools involved: 434
Programme duration: 28 months
Total kids involved: 16,285
Meals provided this year: 368,630
Meals provided last year: 1,022,471
Meals provided to date: 1,955,270
For information visit:
www.kickstartbreakfast.co.nz