Jeremy Corbyn pledges support for i’s ‘absolutely brilliant’ Magic Breakfast charity appeal Jeremy Corbyn has praised the work of the “absolutely brilliant” charity Magic Breakfast for its work in tackling hunger in […]

Jeremy Corbyn has praised the work of the “absolutely brilliant” charity Magic Breakfast for its work in tackling hunger in the classroom.

The Labour leader pledged to make a donation to the 2017 i Christmas Charity Appeal, which aims to raise enough money to pay for half a million healthy breakfasts in school.

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Mr Corbyn said: “The numbers of children going to school hungry is huge, teachers are often very generous and actively buy breakfast with their own money for their children. Well done them, but they shouldn’t have to do it.”

“I absolutely support this appeal, am very happy to endorse it and am very happy to make a donation to it” Jeremy Corbyn

Recalling that he raised the problem of pupils arriving hungry for lessons at last year’s National Union of Teachers conference, he said: “They all looked at each other as if to say: ‘I do, do you?’ We all know they do.”

‘Nightmare’ of school holidays

Mr Corbyn said: “Some local authorities – including my own, for example – does provide quite a lot of breakfasts, which is great.

“I absolutely support this appeal, am very happy to endorse it and am very happy to make a donation to it.”

He said: “Breakfasts and lunches in school are clearly very important. But there is also the nightmare of school holidays when there is no free breakfast and no free lunch and many of the children lose out.”

Half a million too hungry to learn

At least half a million children arrive at school in the UK too hungry or malnourished to learn.

Magic Breakfast, which aims at reaching pupils in the country’s most deprived areas, says it can provide a healthy meal for a child for 22p, enabling them to focus on their lessons rather than their hunger.