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Foodbank Variety School Lunch Program
Foodbank SA & Variety – the Children’s Charity of South Australia have joined forces to combat child hunger in South Australia. The new Foodbank Variety School Lunch Program will provide South Australian school students experiencing food insecurity access to free nutritious lunches in the school environment. The program developed by Foodbank SA and Variety SA, will provide school lunches to the most vulnerable school kids across the state in the next 12 months.
More than 100 schools have initially registered for the program with more than 4,000 of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged students expected to benefit from the program in the next 6 months.
Foodbank SA CEO Greg Pattinson said the partnership with Variety SA will be the largest school lunch program to help kids in this state.
“Foodbank SA were receiving an increasing number of reports from schools participating in the Foodbank SA School Breakfast Program about students who had little to no food during the school day. Some of these schools were requesting extra food supplies to distribute to students who were identified as being most in need. We are hearing of stories of children as young as 5, who have no recess or school lunch or children that are physically unwell because they are not getting enough of the right food.” Said Mr Pattinson
“The partnership between Foodbank and Variety is the coming together of two respected charities that will have a real impact, that is more than food. It is the future of our state. Importantly, the Foodbank Variety School Lunch Program will be a major step in fulfilling our mission ‘to end hunger in South Australia’.
Variety SA CEO Mark McGill said this program will have far reaching effects on the wellbeing of kids in need in both metro and regional schools across the state.
“Variety is thrilled to be partnering once again with Foodbank to fill the lunchboxes of kids in need who would usually go without.
“The $450,000 of funding from Variety SA will establish a state-wide Foodbank Variety School Lunch Program for the most in-need schools in South Australia. This is set to impact more than one hundred schools who have been identified as having the highest levels of unmet need across South Australia.” Said Mr McGill.
Approximately 50% of these schools are metropolitan and 50% are regional and remote schools, with more than 4,000 students that will access the lunch program in the next 6 months. More than 50% of the schools identified are from Category 1 or 2 but many other schools have demonstrated unmet need for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children in their school communities.
The Foodbank Variety School Lunch Program will be more than food. This program will have a positive impact on factors such as physical and mental health, social skills, concentration, behaviour, attendance and academic outcomes. The lunches will be offered in discreet packaging and include a healthy recess and lunch (including fresh fruit). The program will also help educate young people about the importance of healthy eating and provides them with nutritious lunches to help fill rumbling tummies.
The Foodbank Variety School Lunch Program is an extension of more than 550 school programs including school breakfasts that Foodbank offer across the state. The program is open to those schools currently registered for the Foodbank SA School Breakfast Program that participated in the initial assessment.
