Some Western Australian schools are increasingly relying on breakfast programs to ensure students are fed, according to the food charity Manna.

In partnership with Foodbank WA, Manna delivers food to 50 schools across Perth and regional areas.

Program coordinator Carol Gould said deliveries vary depending on school needs and that some families using the program “aren’t able to put food on the table at home”. 

“Some parents ring up and say, ‘I can’t send my child to school because I don’t have any food’… they are suffering,” she said.

Manna’s goal is to make it easy for schools to prepare and distribute food to their students.

“Schools are very busy places… while they all value and know the importance of having a full belly… it’s gotta be something that’s manageable for the school to run,” Ms Gould said.

Foodbank WA school breakfast program manager Miranda Chester said interest in the program had increased everywhere, including in areas not traditionally considered disadvantaged.

“With cost-of-living pressures, families are having to choose what they spend on…food is one of the few costs that people can dial up and down,” she said.

Foodbank WA’s 2024 Hunger Report revealed an estimated 3.4 million Australian households had experienced food insecurity.

A 2024 study in the Journal of Early Child Development and Care suggested children who came to school hungry demonstrated poor development in areas including language, cognitive skills and emotional maturity.

Scarlett Grono organises volunteers at Bentley Primary school’s breakfast club.

“You can go with friends…once you do it once you realise it’s very easy and fun,” she said. 

Ms Grono said the same children tended to come to the breakfast club every time.

“A lot of kids don’t bring food to school – that’s their meal for the day,” she said.

“They’re just hungry, so it’s definitely needed and very in demand.”