Magic Breakfast and England Hockey have teamed up ahead of the EuroHockey Championships to raise awareness of the impact hunger has on school-age children.
Magic Breakfast will be the official charity partner of the men’s and women’s teams travelling to Germany to take on the very best in Europe from 18 – 27 August with the charity also having their logo featured on the men’s official shirts.
Sadly, the number of children at risk of hunger in the UK has increased since the outbreak of the pandemic and the latest research from The Food Foundation shows that four million children are currently facing food insecurity. Magic Breakfast provides free, nutritious school breakfasts every day to children and young people in disadvantaged areas of England and Scotland. A hungry child cannot concentrate, so could miss out on half a day of lessons every school day if not given anything nutritious to eat in the morning.
Hockey players fuel their bodies ready for performance and want to raise awareness of this urgent issue and the children needing fuel to thrive at school and in sport.
On the back of the success of the teams at the Commonwealth Games, the medal-winning men’s and women’s teams, with the support of England Hockey, wrote to Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss calling on government support to back the provision of PE and team sport within schools. The Magic Breakfast partnership further cements the players and the National Governing Body’s commitment to supporting state schools.
Tokyo 2020 Olympian James Gall said “The whole squad is incredibly proud to represent such a fantastic charity like Magic Breakfast. We were all blown away by the work they do to help so many children who are missing out on breakfast each day. Getting behind this charity as a team is so important to us, and we would encourage every member of the hockey community to support them in any way they can.”
Commonwealth Champion Ellie Rayer, said: “Magic Breakfast is such an incredible charity and the work they’re doing in schools up and down the country is so vital. The statistics on how much missing breakfast impacts a child’s ability to learn is really shocking. We as a squad really believe every child should be entitled to a healthy breakfast and all the mental, physical and social benefits that come with it so it’s a cause we’re really proud to support during the EuroHockey Championships.”
Lindsey Macdonald, CEO of Magic Breakfast said: “We are delighted to be working alongside England Hockey to raise national awareness of Magic Breakfast’s impact at a time when 1 in 4 children in the UK are at risk of hunger. We know that a healthy and nutritious breakfast not only fuels success on the pitch but also in the classroom. No child or young person should be too hungry to learn, play or thrive.”
England Hockey CEO, Nick Pink, added: “We’re incredible proud to be supporting such a fantastic charity in Magic Breakfast. A year ago, after the Commonwealth Games, we called on the Government to commit to extending sport provision in state schools.
“Our open letter backed by the players, cemented their commitment to this cause, and this partnership with Magic Breakfast furthers our aim to support children in state schools. I would urge everyone in the hockey community to donate as much as they can to support Magic Breakfast as we work together to help children that are going hungry while at school.”
To find out more about Magic Breakfast and their partnership with England Hockey visit https://www.magicbreakfast.com/england-hockey
