Food Insecurity and Nutritional Gap Threatening Children’s Health and Learning

Access to nutritious food is essential for children’s health, learning and long term development. Yet research conducted with Foodlink Foundation highlights that breakfast remains a daily challenge for many students in Hong Kong. Nearly 40% of surveyed students do not eat breakfast every day, while 30% consume breakfasts that lack sufficient nutrition. Cost constraints, limited time in the morning and uneven access to healthy food options contribute to these gaps, affecting children’s concentration, energy levels and readiness to learn.

Improve Access to Nutritious Breakfast

Wellcome seeks to address food insecurity among students and support more equal learning opportunities through the “Breakfast Buddies” partnership with Foodlink Foundation. Through Foodlink’s school and community network, students are supported in accessing dietitian recommended breakfast foods via Wellcome stores, helping families establish healthier morning routines and reinforcing the importance of balanced nutrition.

Improving Nutrition and Learning Readiness

Starting from 27 April 2025, the programme will distribute 100,000 breakfast vouchers for a year to students from Primary 1 to Secondary 6 across multiple districts in Hong Kong. The initiative is expected to provide approximately HK$2 million of products including 280,000 apples, 160,000 boxes of eggs, 40,000 packs of oats and 16,000 cartons of milk. By supporting access to nutritious breakfasts, the programme helps improve children’s readiness to learn while raising awareness of healthy eating habits among students and their families.