The Good Food Fund aims to provide free breakfasts to children at 100 primary schools who are in need, supporting 10,000 young people by the end of 2023.

The provision of the breakfasts comes at a time when cost of living challenges prevail and there is real concern around children getting adequate nutrition.

According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, “nearly one-in-five people in Northern Ireland are living in poverty, including more than 100,000 children, and 1 in 14 households are in food insecurity.”

The Good Food Fund was founded by Danske Bank and Belfast Harbour and is supported by Firmus energy, JP Corry, Lidl, Phoenix Natural Gas, Power NI, PwC, SHS Group, SSE Airtricity and Version 1.

With some of Northern Ireland’s leading companies launching the fund through donations, there is now a call for any businesses who think they can help to make a contribution.

Kieran Harding, MD of Business in the Community, said:

“The contribution businesses can make to society is undeniable. The offers of support through the Good Food Fund in Northern Ireland demonstrate how powerful the collaborative force of business can be.

“Together, we aim to provide support to more than 10,000 young people before the end of the year. We are asking businesses to make a donation to the Good Food Fund that will be used to help primary schools establish or extend a Breakfast Club, provide classroom Grab and Go Baskets, or enable them to procure white goods to help store/prepare food. Any support a business can provide will be very much appreciated.”

Simon Little, Head of Communications at Danske Bank, said:

“As part of our cost-of-living societal support commitments we are delighted to be driving this initiative with Business in the Community and other leading local companies.

“Through our own communications channels and well-established business relationships I am confident we can help get the message out and ensure as many children as possible benefit from the programme.”

Businesses can donate to, and schools can apply for, the Good Food Fund by visiting the BITC website.