Education Minister James Merlino visited Morwell Park Primary School on Friday to celebrate the delivery of the 5 millionth breakfast served under the state government’s Breakfast Club program since 2016.
Mr Merlino said he wanted to celebrate the “significant milestone” at Morwell Park because of the school’s long history serving breakfast to its students.
“If you are hungry, if your stomach is rumbling, you are simply not ready to learn and it is programs like this at Morwell Park Primary School that are making such a difference to hundreds and thousands of kids,” he said.
Mr Merlino said teachers reported students were concentrating in their studies and enjoying more social engagement.
“Morwell Park Primary School has been doing it for many, many years, it dates back to 2003 … and then when we introduced our Breakfast Club program that provided the additional support so welcome by the Morwell Park community.
“So I really wanted to come here to say ‘thank-you’ to the school, to say ‘thank-you’ to the volunteers, to say ‘thank-you’ to the local community and business that support this program.”
Member for Eastern Victoria Harriet Shing said 700,000 breakfasts had been delivered through the program across Gippsland.
“Seven hundred thousand breakfasts is a really, really huge achievement, particularly given our relatively small population size in this part of regional Victoria,” she said.
“And also the social element of breakfast club too, means that it is a level playing field for the time that everyone is enjoying breakfast, so the social element of it is really important too.”
Foodbank Victoria chief executive Dave McNamara said the Breakfast Club was a “fantastic program”.
“I think if you’ve got kids, or you just reflect on yourself, to start the day properly, you need food,” he said.
“To give a child, right when they need it, the start of school, education, paying attention, learning, is the best way to address insecurity in kids around food.”
