Cooking up at a storm during FareShare South West’s Big Breakfast Week

The Big Breakfast Week, run by the food redistribution charity FareShare South West, is a weeklong campaign that’s part of its ‘No Bristol Child to Go Hungry’ initiative. The campaign aims to raise awareness of food poverty and child hunger, focussing on the impact hunger can have on a child as they attempt to conduct a school day.

Among the chefs dishing up breakfast on Monday, October 14 at Hannah More Primary School’s Breakfast Club as part of Big Breakfast Week were head pastry chef from The Pony and Trap, Joe Fowler, and sous chef Mirai Smith from Root Bristol.

With over 50 children in attendance at the breakfast club, the chefs spent their morning serving up fluffy, American-style pancakes, with the children watching on.

Over 50 children attended the breakfast club, where pancakes were served

“I’m really pleased to be involved in the Big Breakfast campaign,” said Joe. “It’s great to be supporting a charity who are fighting food poverty, but by doing so are also tackling the issue of food waste, which is important to me.

“The children at Hannah More Primary were watching closely this morning, and asked lots of questions about the pancakes and how they’re made. Some hadn’t ever eaten a pancake before, so it was great to share something I love with them.”

Sue Ramsay, headteacher at Hannah More Primary said: “What a joy our Big Breakfast Week morning was! The children were queuing at the pancake making table and there was real enthusiasm for the fresh fruit toppings too.

“We’re lucky to be supported by FareShare South West and their support enables us to run an open and inclusive breakfast club every school day morning, where children and parents alike are welcome. We might not have top chefs cooking pancakes every day, but we do get a variety of foods, which provide a nutritious start to the day for our children.”

Child hunger is a growing, city-wide issue. Work with breakfast clubs is a vital way to ensure all children in Bristol are given the best opportunity to succeed. FareShare South West provide food to over 60 breakfast clubs across the South West with 35 in Bristol at present.

However, this is only one aspect to the food support that the charity deliver into the community through groups, projects and charities, with the child at the centre. Significant quantities of surplus food available are a way to help aleve the issue of food poverty that faces the city.

Fluffy pancakes were served with fresh fruit

Also on the rota cooking up breakfasts during the week include is Pony and Trap’s Josh Eggleton, Root Bristol’s Rob Howell, BOX-E’s Elliott Lidstone, Pump House’s Toby Gritten, Adrian Kirikmaa of St Monica Trust, Louise McCrimmon of Harvey Nichols, Oscar Davis of Yurt Lush, Felix Rayment of Bird in Hand, and cookbook authors Genevieve Taylor and Kalpna Woolf.

To find out more about FareShare South West the visit www.faresharesouthwest.org.uk/bigbreakfast

All photos by Helen Sharpe

Read more: Ensuring all children get a decent breakfast before the school day begins