The Greggs Foundation opens its 800th Breakfast Club

The Greggs Foundation Breakfast Club Programme was established way back in 1999 to help primary school children get a nutritious start to their school day.

Over 20 years later, we're now proud to celebrate the opening of our 800th Breakfast Club, serving wholesome, free breakfasts to around 49,500 children every school day.

The 800th club opened its doors at Baildon Glen Primary School, in Shipley, and will offer 169 children a free breakfast to help pupils prepare for the school day ahead. As well as providing a nutritious morning meal, the daily breakfast club offers time for children to chat and engage with school staff before their classes begin. 

Siobhan Barford, Head of School at Baildon Glen Primary School, said: “We are delighted to be selected as the 800^th school to receive funding for our breakfast provision through the Greggs Foundation. We are very much looking forward to working in partnership with the Greggs Foundation to make sure all our pupils are ready to learn and have access to a healthy breakfast each morning.”

As the cost-of-living crisis continues to impact children and families throughout the UK, the Greggs Foundation offers all schools in its breakfast club network access to a hardship fund. The fund helps those in financial crisis with support for food, clothing and energy vouchers, as well as essential home appliances. 

All breakfast club schools can apply for help on behalf of pupils and families in their school community. The Greggs Foundation issued over £1.4m in hardship grants in 2022. 

Greggs customers can donate 25p at any shop till, to provide a free breakfast to a child in need. Customers simply need to tell a team member they want to “donate a breakfast for 25p” when making a purchase. 

The opening of the 800^th Club means the Greggs Foundation is on track to meet its Greggs Pledge ambition to open 1,000 Breakfast Clubs by 2025.

Roisin Currie, Chief Executive Officer at Greggs, commented: “No child should ever start their day without breakfast, which is why we pledged to open 1,000 Breakfast Clubs by 2025. It’s an honour to have opened our 800^th Club in Shipley, and to meet the pupils who will benefit from it. Our Breakfast Club programme has been running for over 20 years, and we look forward to continuing to support our local communities and meeting our goal to help provide breakfast to 70,000 children every day by the end of 2025."