MasterChef's backer drops support for school breakfasts

Donna Wynd says that the Red Cross programme was respected. Photo / APN

Fresh from its high-profile sponsorship of the TV series MasterChef, the Countdown supermarket chain has stopped funding breakfasts for children at 61 low-income schools.

The Red Cross breakfast programme, which depended on Countdown sponsorship worth several hundred thousand dollars a year, will finish at the end of this term.

The charity has written to its 61 decile 1 schools saying it has been unable to find a new sponsor and advising them to apply to another breakfast programme, Kickstart, run by Fonterra and Sanitarium.

But Child Poverty Action Group researcher Donna Wynd said Kickstart - which serves 435 schools - provided only milk and cereal two days a week whereas the Red Cross served children daily with a wider range of foods.

"The Red Cross was doing all the right things. It was a respected programme.

"I just think this is awful. I'm stunned about what it says about our society that MasterChef is more valuable than feeding children in decile 1 schools ..."

The Red Cross scheme has provided cereal, toast, spreads and a hot drink to thousands of children.

The principal of Kelvin Rd Primary in Papakura, Tonny Robertson, said the school had discovered that after weekends, some families did not have food for breakfast on Monday.

"Thursday, being dole day, was another shortfall day. We are decile 1 so a high proportion of the kids are on benefits. A lot of them are from single-parent families."

The small Meremere School south of Auckland serves breakfast every day to 20 to 30 of its 45 pupils.

"It will go to the end of this term so it gives us time to make other arrangements," said principal Heather Green.

Fonterra's corporate social responsibility manager, Tia Wylie, said the dairy giant and Sanitarium were "able and willing" to pick up all the schools from the Red Cross.

Kickstart served breakfasts only twice a week "with the hope that the programme will educate children in how good they feel in eating breakfast in the hope that they will replicate that at home".

The public affairs manager for Countdown owner Progressive Enterprises, Luke Schepen, said the chain stopped sponsoring the Red Cross programme at the end of last year "following a review of our community initiatives".

"Our team has a terrific passion for supporting the communities we serve and this has not changed. We are currently exploring new opportunities to invest in initiatives that will benefit both our communities and our business," he said.

He declined to comment on the contract with MasterChef, which was "an advertising sponsorship".

Food and Grocery Council chief executive Katherine Rich said food companies were considering a coordinated national programme to supply foodbanks and breakfast programmes modelled on Foodbank Australia, which distributes food to welfare agencies feeding the hungry.

Auckland City Missioner Diane Robertson said her mission had sent a consultant to look at the Australian scheme and was working on a proposal for the New Zealand industry.