Mildura Regional School Breakfast Program
Mildura Regional School Breakfast Program
The Mildura Region School Breakfast Partnership is a locally coordinated initiative supporting schools and kindergartens across the Mildura region to establish, maintain and strengthen breakfast and food-support programs. The partnership currently supports 28 education settings, including government, Catholic, independent and specialist schools, as well as participating kindergartens. Breakfast clubs are operated locally by participating education settings and are provided at no cost to children and families. Sunraysia Community Health Services coordinates the partnership by connecting education settings with food suppliers, community organisations, local businesses, donors and funders.
Children who arrive at school hungry may find it more difficult to concentrate, participate in learning and regulate their behaviour. The increasing cost of living can also make it difficult for some families to consistently access enough nutritious food. School and kindergarten breakfast programs provide an inclusive and practical way to support children’s wellbeing and readiness to learn.
The Mildura Region School Breakfast Partnership commenced in 2013 in response to growing awareness that some local students were arriving at school without having eaten breakfast. Beginning with eight registered schools, the partnership has expanded to support 28 education settings across the Mildura region.
The partnership developed a collaborative regional approach that enables education settings to benefit from shared funding, food-supply partnerships, local support and opportunities to exchange practical knowledge and experience. This approach reduces competition for limited funding and strengthens cooperation between education settings and community partners.
The Mildura Region School Breakfast Partnership:
- coordinates relationships between education settings, food suppliers, community organisations, donors and funders;
- supports schools and kindergartens to establish and improve breakfast programs
- assists participating settings to access food supplies, fresh fruit, vouchers and donations;
- connects education settings and families with emergency food-relief pathways where appropriate;
- collects local program data to support reporting and evaluation;
- facilitates collaboration and shared learning between education settings; and
- promotes awareness of food insecurity and the importance of access to nutritious food.
The partnership is supported through philanthropic funding, community donations, in-kind contributions and local partnerships. Foodbank South Australia/Foodbank Riverland is a key food-supply partner for participating schools and kindergartens. Education settings place their own weekly or fortnightly food orders directly with Foodbank South Australia/Foodbank Riverland according to their local needs.
Sunraysia Community Health Services coordinates the collaborative funding pool, manages relevant supplier invoices and works with partners to reduce the financial and administrative burden on participating education settings. Participating kindergartens may also use School Readiness Funding, where available an approved, to support their involvement.
Foodbank Victoria delivers the School Breakfast Clubs Program in partnership on behalf of the Victorian Government and Department of Education. This program operates separately from the Mildura Region School Breakfast Partnership. Sunraysia Community Health Services does not deliver, manage or oversee Foodbank Victoria’s School Breakfast Clubs Program. However, eligible state government schools participating in the Mildura Region School Breakfast Partnership may also access food and support through Foodbank Victoria’s fully funded program. The Mildura Region School Breakfast Partnership complements existing programs by coordinating additional local support and extending food access to education settings across the Mildura region.
For more information about Foodbank Victoria’s School Breakfast Clubs Program, please visit:
https://schoolbreakfastclubs.org.au/?state=vic
The Mildura Region School Breakfast Partnership is supported by a Governance Group established in 2017. The Governance Group includes representatives from Sunraysia Community Health Services and participating education settings. It provides oversight, local insight and guidance on program priorities, operations, evaluation and future improvement.
The partnership works with schools, kindergartens, food suppliers, local businesses, community organisations, donors and philanthropic funders across the Mildura region.
Partners contribute in different ways, including through food supply, funding, in-kind support, local knowledge, governance participation and community connections.
Schools, kindergartens, community organisations, businesses, donors and funders are welcome to be involved with the Mildura Region School Breakfast Partnership.
For further information, contact the Sunraysia Community Health Services Health Promotion Team hp@schs.com.au or call 5022 5444.
thank you to our sponsors:
