Milestone meal served up

THE State Government’s School Breakfast Club initiative has served more than fifty million meals to Victorian students since 2016.

Member for Eureka Michaela Settle celebrated the milestone at Mount Pleasant Primary School last week.

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” she said.

“We’re focused on supporting hard-working families with the cost of living and the cost of learning, because every little bit counts.”

In Ballarat, 29 schools have taken part in the program within the last eight years and nearly $1.5 million meals have been served.

The State Government has allocated more than $162 million to the program since 2016 including $21.1 million in this year’s budget to expand the initiative to every government school.

More than 1000 schools already take part in the program and by June 2026, all schools will have the opportunity to opt in with the program expected to support 200,000 students.

More than 140 schools around the state also host cooking classes for families to help them prepare healthy, affordable meals.

“While Liberals cut free fruit Fridays, the Labor Government has served up 50 million free meals and is expanding the program across the whole state – because we believe that kids shouldn’t learn on an empty stomach,” said Minister for Education Ben Carroll.

“I congratulate everyone who helped achieve this milestone – you have given countless children a nutritious meal every morning, and helped their families put affordable, healthy food on the table at home.”