Week-long event will shine a light on importance of breakfast for schoolchildren

Posted by nathan lloyd | Published: 16/01/2017

Central England Co-operative is set to get up bright and early to help children learn more about the most important meal of the day.

As part of a year-long sponsorship with Kids Country, the education arm of the East of England Agricultural Society, volunteers from the Society will visit three schools to help them learn about where breakfast comes from.

Bytham Primary School, in Grantham, Alconbury Primary School, in Huntingdon, and Newark Hill Primary School, in Peterborough, will all take part during National Breakfast Week, which runs from Monday, 23 January.

Member and Community Relations Officer Karen Ball said: “We are delighted with our year-long sponsorship of Kids Country, and are so pleased to kick-start the link-up with our support of National Breakfast Week.

“The event will see us focusing on activities designed around children learning more about the most important meal of the day, and to raise awareness of the health and nutritional benefits of breakfast.

“This will involve working with Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 pupils, teachers and educators to stimulate and inform.

“This approach fits in perfectly with The Co-operative and its long tradition of giving back to the community. We welcome the opportunity to make a real difference to the
lives and education of local children.”

The link-up between Kids Country and Central England Co-operative will result in support with 18 events during 2017.

The Kids Country programme consists of interactive, hands-on events about food, farming and the countryside for children in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire,
Huntingdonshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, and Northamptonshire.

Activities include potato planting and harvesting, learning about chickens, bee observatory visits and the annual Food & Farming Day at the East of England Showground.

In 2016, the programme reached over 6,000 children from across the Eastern region and beyond.

Any schools who are interested in participating in a Kids Country event should contact the Education Team at the East of England Agricultural Society on 01733 363514.

Central England Co-operative’s support of National Breakfast Week also forms part of its 2017 A Healthy Start campaign.

Customers can find out more about the Society’s new range of healthy products, as well as hints, tips and video recipes, by visiting https://www.centralengland.coop/mycoopdeals

Notes to editors

About Central England Co-operative

Central England Co-operative is one of the largest independent retail co-operative societies in the UK. It is a modern, forward-looking organisation employing over 8,000 staff, with projected gross sales of £958million for 2016/17. The Society recently celebrated being named Leading Co-operative of the Year 2016 by Co-operatives UK. The Society’s principal areas of activity are food, funeral services, and property. Central England Co-operative has more than 430 trading outlets across 16 counties including; West Midlands, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.  The Society has an ambitious food store development programme for 2017.
Central England Co-operative is proud of its reputation for ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.  It is a member of Business in the Community, the membership organisation that stands for responsible business, and has also won many business awards for excellence.  The Society supports a number of charities including Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and invests a percentage of its trading profit into local communities.
For more information visit http://www.centralengland.coop follo,w Central England Co-operative on Twitter: @mycoopfood, and on Facebook: facebook.com/centralenglandcooperative
Rob Smyth – PR officer - Central England Co-operative - 01543 414140
Email – publicrelations@centralengland.coop