National food charity Magic Breakfast has launched a powerful new film, entitled ‘No Child Too Hungry to Learn’, to raise awareness of the realities faced by families experiencing hunger across the UK, and the vital support the charity provides to help alleviate food insecurity.
Created by All3Media’s Bullion Productions, the six-minute film provides a moving account of hunger and poverty, featuring real families sharing their experiences of struggling to feed themselves and their children.
Shockingly, one contributor reflects on a time when she had to resort to eating dog food, while another, who works as a Community Nurse, describes having sleepless nights worrying about when she’ll have enough to pay for the food shop to feed her two young boys. The film also highlights the work Magic Breakfast does to help tackle child hunger in schools, and the impact breakfast can have on a child’s ability to break out of the cycle of poverty.
For over 20 years Magic Breakfast has provided healthy breakfasts to children in schools with high levels of disadvantage so they don’t start the day hungry and have the fuel they need to learn. The charity currently supports over 200,000 children in over 1,000 schools across England and Scotland.
All3Media’s support for Magic Breakfast comes at a time when child hunger is at a critical level, with
2.5 million children experiencing food insecurity between February and July 2021. 5.2 million adults (9.9% of households) experienced food insecurity during the same period.[1]
A recent survey of Magic Breakfast’s partner schools also found that 89% of schools believe poverty has increased in their school community in the past year, with 79% saying that child hunger has increased.[2]
All3Media joined forces with Magic Breakfast after staff voted for the food charity to receive its Christmas donation in 2020. Subsequently All3Media’s Bullion Productions committed to making a film with director Alexandra Green, to highlight the work of Magic Breakfast and the impact of child hunger on education.
Sara Geater, All3Media COO, said: “We are pleased to support Magic Breakfast and could think of nobody better than Bullion to help shine a light on the issue of child hunger. It is a sobering yet hopeful film and highlights the urgent need for proper nutrition for all children. Magic Breakfast is a vital resource for our children and communities and we look forward to continuing our relationship with this incredibly important charity.”
Ally Green, Director at Bullion Productions, said: “I set out to make an honest, impactful film that presents the actuality of hunger in the UK, featuring families that experience food insecurity day-to-day; a real-life portrait using an emotive montage of voiceover and visual imagery to highlight the truth of the families.
“It was important to debunk myths around food poverty and create an environment with total trust so the families felt comfortable to open up about the reality of their situations without shame or stigma. I also wanted to ensure we had a broad range of families from different areas – poverty is a country-wide issue which looks different in different postcodes.
“I hope the audience will connect to the families and children at the heart of this film, and are left with a deeper understanding of the social, economic and variable factors that all play into child poverty – with an unrivalled feeling of being compelled to create change.”
Lindsey Macdonald, Magic Breakfast CEO, said: “We are enormously grateful to All3Media for their generous support, and to the talented team at Bullion for creating such a hard-hitting and impactful film, which provides an honest account of the lives of families living with food insecurity. We hope that by featuring real families, each in different circumstances but who all struggle day-to-day, we can help audiences better understand the harsh realities faced by millions of families across the UK.
“The scale of poverty and hunger in the UK is at a critical level. It has a devastating impact on the children who start each day without any food to wake up to. Our research highlights the increase in poverty and child hunger in our school communities in the past year, and the ripple effect this can have on children and their ability to learn. We know our breakfast provision is a lifeline to many, ensuring they no longer need to worry that their children will start the day hungry. We hope our film helps raise awareness of the issues faced by families across the UK and inspires support and action from those who are able to help ensure no child is too hungry to learn.”
[1] The Food Foundation, Food Insecurity Tracking, 2021: https://foodfoundation.org.uk/initiatives/food-insecurity-tracking
[2] Magic Breakfast Measuring and Monitoring Survey 2020/21