Thousands of primary school children across the UK are set to benefit from free, healthy breakfasts as the government launches a major partnership with some of Britain’s biggest

household names.

Supermarket giants Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, alongside Weetabix and the charity Magic Breakfast, are joining forces with the government to support the first 750 “Best Start” free breakfast clubs. The move aims to give families a helping hand, back schools, and ensure every child begins their day ready to learn.

The new initiative — part of the government’s Plan for Change — will see early adopter schools receive discounted food and free deliveries from today. Officials say the clubs are already making a real difference, saving parents an average of £450 a year and freeing up around 95 hours of morning time annually.

Easing pressure on families

Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson said:  

“We’re rolling out free breakfast clubs, and now we’re going further. By joining forces with some of Britain’s most loved food brands, we are making our offer bigger and better – backing our schools, supporting families, and ensuring every child gets the best start in life.

We need schools to play their part too, getting ready to join the free breakfast club scheme from next year, or acting now to cap branded uniform items to keep more of parents’ hard-earned cash in their pockets.

This government is driving change and delivering national renewal – and we won’t rest until we have broken the link between a child’s background and success”.

The new deals will help schools serve a wider variety of breakfasts — from porridge and yoghurt to wholegrain toast — while freeing up funds for extra enrichment activities such as sports or board games.

A growing need

Recent research shows that 38% of parents struggle to provide a healthy breakfast before school, with fussy eating and lack of time among the main challenges.

To address this, the government has announced plans to expand the scheme to 2,000 more schools by April 2026, reaching an additional half a million children nationwide.

Support from industry and schools

Businesses say they are proud to be part of the effort.

Simon Roberts, CEO of Sainsbury’s said:

“Every child deserves access to affordable and nutritious food to help them thrive, but we know far too many arrive at school without a balanced breakfast to fuel their day.

That’s why we are proud to be partnering with the Department for Education on their free breakfast clubs, offering the early adopter schools £200 vouchers to support healthy breakfast provision.

We’re committed, at Sainsbury’s, to continuing to play our part in addressing this challenge until we’re confident that everyone across the country has access to joyful, affordable food every day”.

Rick Weights Head Teacher of Saxton Federation of CE Primary Schools, Monk Fryston said: 

“These business partnership deals will make the world of difference to the sustainability of our free breakfast club and we’re thrilled the government has taken on board key feedback in this test and learn phase.  

For us, as a rural school of 41 pupils, the high delivery costs for fresh food every week made it difficult to run a club so I’m incredibly excited about the free delivery Morrison’s will offer. We will be able to utilise the savings made into improving the menu options for our children, providing a wider selection of healthy food. This will make our breakfast club even better. 

These deals are vital to make sure free breakfast clubs work easily for every type of school. It’s meant we can give the 26 pupils who regularly attend a soft, supportive start to the day”.  

More than just breakfast

The breakfast club expansion comes alongside new government guidance asking schools to limit branded uniform items — a move expected to save parents more than £50 per child once new caps take effect under the upcoming Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill.

A recent Parentkind survey revealed that over a quarter of parents have gone without heating or food to cover uniform costs.

Part of a bigger picture

Today’s announcement also links to broader government plans to revise School Food Standards and extend free school meals to all families on Universal Credit — a change expected to lift 100,000 children out of poverty.

These efforts form part of a national food strategy aimed at building a healthier, fairer system — one that ensures no child starts the school day hungry.

Francesca Theokli, Marketing & NPD Director, Weetabix said: 

“Weetabix is proud to support the UK government’s free breakfast club programme, to provide primary school children across the country with a healthier start to their school day.

As the UK’s number 1 cereal brand, trusted by families nationwide, we believe every child deserves access to wholegrain, high fibre, low sugar, tasty, nutritious food. Through our partnership with early adopter schools, we are helping ensure that healthy options are more accessible to children, supporting their wellbeing and readiness to learn.

We are committed to working alongside our Foodservice wholesale partners to make a meaningful impact on child nutrition and family support”.

Rami Baitiéh, Chief Executive Officer for Morrisons said: 

“We are delighted to be part of the free breakfast club partnership and look forward to helping schools across the country give children the best start to the day. 

Our heritage in fresh, quality food is something we are proud of and our free anytime delivery pass will help these schools consistently provide healthy breakfasts to pupils”.

Rhian Thompson, Director of Service Delivery, Magic Breakfast, said:

“Each school morning, Magic Breakfast works with over 1000 schools, making school breakfast available for hundreds of thousands of children and young people.

I am especially pleased that Magic Breakfast is now a proud partner of the free breakfast club programme. 

The expertise we have built in areas including food, delivery and breakfast provision in almost every type of school and community will be a valuable asset we can bring to the programme. At Magic Breakfast, we are excited to participate in this test and learn phase and help schools to deliver their free breakfast clubs”.

Food Security Minister Dame Angela Eagle said:

“These partnerships are a perfect example of our food strategy in action - making healthy, nutritious food available to families across the country.

By working with brands like Weetabix, and their high-quality British wheat, we’re not only helping children get a healthier start to their day, but we’re also supporting our farmers and strengthening our domestic food supply chains.

This is how we build a food system that works for families and farmers alike”. Photo by Casey Lehman, Wikimedia commons.