Ben Pearman - Managing Director of General Mills Northern Europe

Pupils at Belmore Primary Academy enjoying their new Breakfast Club with Ben Pearman, managing director of General Mills Northern Europe

General Mills has pledged to fund 5,000 school breakfasts nationwide over the next three years in partnership with the Greggs Foundation.

The announcement marks a significant ramping up of the Häagen-Dazs manufacturer’s partnership with Greggs, which already funds breakfast clubs that feed more than 950 pupils every day.

The Greggs Foundation was established in 1999 and provides 26,391 school breakfasts every day in 445 breakfast clubs across the UK.

“Food insecurity is a major issue in the UK and it is shocking to think that not every child in the country has access to breakfast. As a leading food company we feel it’s vital that we do whatever we can to help ensure that school children are able to start their day with a wholesome meal,” said General Mills Northern Europe MD Ben Pearman.

“We’re delighted to be working with the Greggs Foundation to help deliver breakfast to many schoolchildren over the years to come.”

The announcement comes as the latest breakfast club opens at a primary school close to General Mills’ UK headquarters in Uxbridge. The Greggs Foundation will supply fresh bread from a local bakery and General Mills has donated funds to the club, which the school will use to supply a number of other breakfast items.

“We’re delighted that General Mills has become a key partner in our breakfast club programme. Up and down the country the results yielded in the schools are absolutely fantastic and it really is refreshing to see the enthusiasm to support us from everybody at General Mills,” said Greggs Foundation breakfast club manager Joanne Miles.

“We’re excited about the prospect of working with the company over the next three years and helping to transform the lives of thousands of children across the country.”