Newcastle's Greggs Foundation marks major milestone of 1,000 UK breakfast clubs

The very first opening was at West Walker Primary School in Newcastle 25 years ago

Newcastle bakery giant Greggs has marked a major milestone after opening its 1,000th breakfast club in the UK.

The company’s charitable arm The Greggs Foundation has opened the club 25 years after launching the very first opening at West Walker Primary School in Newcastle. The clubs, which have shown to have raised attainment levels, punctuality and learning at hundreds of schools around the country, started in 1999 after then Greggs CEO Mike Darrington learned of the benefits of breakfast initiatives at the school in Walker, where Norma Redfearn, now mayor of North Tyneside, was headteacher.

Since then it has donated 90 million breakfasts to UK schoolchildren. The 1,000 Club means the Foundation now provides 75,000 children with a free breakfast every school day, surpassing the Greggs Pledge commitment of feeding 70,000 children every school day by the end of 2025. To celebrate the landmark opening, TV personality and family chef Joe Swash partnered with Greggs to surprise the children at Vauxhall Primary School in London to bring a fun twist to their daily club.

Research from the Greggs Foundation shows that support is needed more than ever, with almost half of parents of four to 11-year-olds saying they are finding it harder to afford to feed their families nutritious meals because of the rising cost of living. Customers can help Greggs Foundation’s mission too by telling a team member they want to “donate a breakfast for 25p” when paying at the till all year round.

Richard Hutton, Greggs chief financial officer and trustee for the Greggs Foundation, said: “Having opened our first breakfast club 25 years ago and now hitting this milestone of 1,000 clubs, we know how important breakfast is for everyone to start their day right. Not only do the clubs offer a nutritious start to the day, but they also provide a time for children to engage with each other and with school staff before their classes begin, increasing their readiness to learn and concentrate during lessons.

“Our research shows that parents continue to find the increase in the cost of living challenging. The Government’s promise to support state-funded breakfast clubs recognises the positive impact our programme has had over the past 25 years, but there is still more to be done to support families. We will therefore be developing our support for schools across even more of the school day through after-school clubs and holiday clubs - something our network of schools have been increasingly vocal about in recent years.”

As well as providing a nutritious breakfast every morning, all schools in the network can access the Greggs Foundation Hardship fund, which supports individuals and families in financial crisis, providing food, clothing and energy vouchers as well as beds and essential home appliances to those in need.

Each club costs an average of £3,500 each year to run, is provided through a number of sources. The Greggs Foundation works with over 160 external partners to sponsor over 450 Clubs, with the remaining clubs funded directly by the Foundation itself. The clubs are run by school staff and parent volunteers, who can also fresh bread from their local Greggs, one of a number of breakfast items offered to children each day.