Celebrities get behind Magic Breakfast to support young people facing crucial exams this summer
Key Takeaways
- Hollywood actor Will Poulter and TV foodie Big Zuu get behind Magic Breakfast’s Fuel For Success campaign.
- Eat at partner restaurants between May 1st and June 30th and support Magic Breakfast’s Fuel For Success campaign by adding an optional £1 donation to your bill.
- A hungry child can’t concentrate, and latest research shows that pupils who regularly miss breakfast are 18.8 months behind their peers in GCSE English and maths.
Hollywood actor Will Poulter and TV foodie Big Zuu have teamed up with children’s charity Magic Breakfast to support its annual Fuel For Success campaign, helping to support young people living with food insecurity who are facing life-changing exams this summer.
Will and Big Zuu each cooked up a healthy, nutritious breakfast to raise awareness of the campaign and the importance of breakfast in powering learning which directly leads to improved attainment. The latest research indicates pupils who regularly miss breakfast are 18.8 months behind their peers in GCSE English and maths. This is the widest disadvantage gap since 2012 and an increase from 18.1 months in 2019 (pre-pandemic). In addition, a separate study by Leeds University found that students who said they rarely ate breakfast achieved nearly two grades lower in their GCSE’s than those who rarely missed their morning meal.
Starting today (May 1st) and running throughout the peak exam-season of May and June, Fuel For Success is now in its third year and is supported by a number of different restaurant partners by adding a voluntary £1 donation to customer bills for the duration of the campaign. Just £1 is enough to provide a nutritious breakfast to three hungry children before an exam.
Will visited recipe platform MOB, on a mission to instil a love of cooking in everyone via their social media channels, online food recipes and cookbooks, to cook up some delicious chipotle mushroom and egg breakfast tacos. Meanwhile, Big Zuu joined some students on a visit to Magic Breakfast partner school, St Aloysius’ College in North London to whip up some healthy fruity pancakes. The pair, who are friends on and off-screen, recently explored 12 dishes in 12 hours in Bologna, for Big Zuu’s latest TV series, where they feasted on ragu and gelato amongst other delicacies.
Long-term supporter of Magic Breakfast, Will Poulter, said: “This exam season let’s rewrite the story for hungry students with Magic Breakfast’s Fuel For Success campaign. Starting the day hungry affects learning and hinders potential. Magic Breakfast provides nutritious breakfasts that help boost attainment. To find out more or to support Fuel For Success, please visit Fuel For Success – Magic Breakfast.”
Big Zuu added: “I am proper excited to be working with Magic Breakfast on their Fuel For Success campaign. Breakfast really sets you up for the day ahead and so it’s seriously important for those youngsters taking exams to have something to eat first to help boost their energy and concentration levels and give them every chance possible.
“It was great to see the work of Magic Breakfast first-hand and get stuck in helping serve up the breakfast at one of their partner schools. The kids were amazing and we had a brilliant morning. We even whipped up some healthy pancakes together. Was just a shame I was fasting for Ramadan! These youngsters are our future so please get behind Magic Breakfast and let’s make it brighter, one breakfast at a time.”
Lindsey MacDonald, Chief Executive of Magic Breakfast, added: “Breakfast is a crucial part of every school day, but as young people get ready for exams, we know that this is even more the case. At a time that is stressful enough, they shouldn’t have the extra worry of feeling hungry, and should instead be able to focus entirely on achieving their potential. We know sadly that this is not the case for so many children, which is why Fuel For Success is so important. We are truly grateful to Will, Big Zuu and all of our restaurant partners who are each working with us to highlight a healthy breakfast as an essential component of the school day and at the same time raising vital funds to support our work.”
If you want to recreate the same breakfast as Will, you can find the recipe here
To find out more about Fuel For Success, participating restaurants, how you can get involved, or to make a donation, please visit www.magicbreakfast.com/fuelforsuccess.
Media Contact
For more information about Magic Breakfast or the Fuel For Success campaign, please contact:
Magic Breakfast – Sarah Dean, Celebrity and Lifestyle Lead – sarah.dean@magicbreakfast.com or 07494 787 798.
About Magic Breakfast
Magic Breakfast is a registered charity that exists to make sure no child or young person is too hungry to learn. We provide nutritious breakfasts and expert support to primary, secondary, ASN/SEND schools and pupil referral units in disadvantaged areas of England and Scotland. Providing a daily school breakfast ensures that every child and young person feels included, equal and set up for success. Magic Breakfast works to be part of the solution to end child morning hunger for good through our campaigning, research and advocacy work with politicians and decision-makers.
