The Greggs Foundation, the independent grant-making charity associated with bakery giant Greggs plc, has partnered with food education charity, Rethink Food, to launch a free education programme.
The programme will teach up to 50,000 schoolchildren across the UK the importance of food security and sustainability and the partnership will play an important role in furthering the commitments of the Greggs Pledge to build stronger, healthier communities, support schoolchildren and grow the highly successful Greggs Breakfast Clubs programme.
Rethink Food was created by teachers themselves, inspired to act by their own personal experiences of children regularly facing hunger as a barrier to learning. To help address this problem, Rethink Food aims to equip young people with the knowledge and practical skills they need to live a food secure life and make a positive difference to the way we think about food, health and sustainability.
The charity has pledged to deliver 10 million hours of education in line with these goals for children and young people by 2030. As part of the new partnership agreement, The Greggs Foundation will contribute one million hours of education to the programme.
Rethink Food will be delivering a bespoke new programme with The Greggs Foundation. Agents of Change is targeted at Year 2 and Year 3 pupils and has been developed in line with the latest OFSTED framework. The programme is designed to help children learn about making sustainable lifestyle choices and the importance of physical activity and healthy diets in a fun and engaging way. It will provide opportunities for learners, or ‘Secret Agents’, to be responsible, respectful and active citizens who contribute positively to society.
The year-long programme will be available free of charge to all 770 Greggs Breakfast Club schools, spread out across the school year and consisting of 24 training modules or ‘missions’, delivered each half term via an online platform. The ‘missions’ will be enhanced by a variety of different resources, from interactive videos and downloadable activities to the delivery of a school backpack for each child, sticker sheets and ‘Secret Agent’ materials. Each child will also be given the opportunity to present their work in an end of year showcase.
Tracy Lynch, Greggs Foundation manager said: “We are proud to partner with Rethink Food to add even greater value to our successful Greggs Breakfast Club Programme. We know first-hand the positive impact on children when receiving a nutritious breakfast and The Greggs Foundation network of 770 Breakfast Clubs is the ideal platform for the Agents of Change programme to really deliver. We look forward to supporting the Rethink Food team in delivering this creative and imaginative food education programme.”
Nathan Atkinson of Rethink Food added: “The support that the Greggs Breakfast Club programme offers is vital in providing children and young people with a positive start to their day. In working with the foundation, we are delighted to be able to enrich this offer through the Agents of Change curriculum offer. We believe that high quality food education is key in supporting children and their families live food secure lives and this programme is a stepping stone in supporting this.”
Newcastle-based Greggs is the largest bakery chain in the UK with over 2,000 branches. It is the home of the widely loved Greggs sausage roll and steak bake and offers online ordering, delivery, and even drive throughs, the first of which opened in Salford in 2017. It has even ventured into the fashion world through a Greggs-branded range with fellow fellow high street value favourite Primark.
