Breakfasts at Karingal Heights get boost from School Breakfast Clubs Program

Breakfast Club is held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

We start at 8:15 and aim to finish at 8:45.

All welcome.

For one school, breakfast clubs both free up money at home and ensure children start the day with full tummies. 

Local Member for Frankston, Paul Edbrooke joined us and

helped me with the cooking of our pancakes. He was ably

assisted by Peta Murphy who has the pre-selection for

the Labor Party.

Holding a breakfast club for the students at Karingal Heights Primary School became a personal project for principal Mick Cowden. The club was initially created by a group of parents at the Frankston school with the assistance of a cereal company. Mr Cowden soon joined in the management of the breakfast club, which ran three times a week for students, some of whom had come to school hungry. 

He saw a significant portion of his school turn up each time. 

‘On a good day, we could get upwards of 30 students and had 113 kids last year,’ Mr Cowden said. ‘We were getting 25 per cent to 33 per cent of students turning up to breakfast.’ 

In the early days, Mr Cowden used to go out and buy about 12 litres of milk a week and, once a month, he would roll up his sleeves, don an apron and fry up some homemade pancakes for the kids. Despite all of these efforts, there just wasn’t enough food for the 30 to 40 students regularly attending. 

And yet, there was still a need to keep a breakfast club running.

The vision for Victoria as the Education State is one where every student has an equal right to the knowledge, opportunities and skills they need to shape their lives. With one in seven children arriving at school hungry, the Victorian Government is taking action to reduce the impact of disadvantage. 

Identified as one of 500 schools in need, Karingal Heights now receives breakfast supplies under the Victorian Government’s $13.7 million School Breakfast Clubs Program. Managed by Australia’s largest food welfare agency, Foodbank, with the help of the DET’s Engagement, Inclusion and Support Branch, the program aims to provide a healthy breakfast to students who have gone without by delivering supplies to the schools who need it most. 

‘It took the pressure off at home,’ Mr Cowden said. ‘If they were eating with us, it freed up money for their families.'

Karingal Heights held their first breakfast under the program on 1 February, where special guests joined about 25 kids — not to mention Principal Cowden himself — turned up to enjoy a delicious round of pancakes.  

‘New little kids came in, the preppies. They just couldn’t believe they could get pancakes,’ Mr Cowden said.

With the welcome addition of canned fruit, more cereal and free milk, Mr Cowden is happy to know these students aren’t starting their lessons with an empty belly. 

‘The kids love it. We appreciate any parents willing to come along and assist us,’ he said. ‘There’s no doubt that we can run the breakfasts for the year under the new program.’