A charity partnership between esteemed children's charity, Magic Breakfast, and sustainable cosmetics supplier, Soap₂o, is set to provide 170,000 essential school breakfasts to children living in food insecurity nationwide.
The partnership comes after figures from the Food Foundation highlight a 1.4m rise in the number of children living in food-insecurity across the UK since last April. September figures released from Kantar show that despite a recent drop in supermarket inflation, 95% of consumers are still worried about the impact of rising grocery prices, with further pressure added from concern over energy bills.
With 4m children now living in food insecurity, Magic Breakfast is raising concerns about the impact morning hunger has on school children’s capacity to learn. The charity states that by the end of primary school, persistently disadvantaged children are 12 months of learning behind their wealthier peers.
Magic Breakfast and Soap₂o hope to alleviate some of the pressures put on families, at the same time as educating school children on sustainable hand hygiene. For every Soap₂o dispenser sold, the company will donate £1 to Magic Breakfast, with the target of providing over 170,000 essential school breakfasts to vulnerable children and young people nationwide.
Mariah Bush, Co-Director of Fundraising and Development at Magic Breakfast said, “We are delighted to have the support of Soap₂o. The growing child hunger issue in this country threatens the health and well-being of a whole generation. Hungry children cannot concentrate or access their education, so not having access to breakfast means they can miss out on the opportunity to learn, thrive, and reach their potential. We look forward to seeing Soap₂o’s fundraising activities that will make a real difference in our ability to continue supporting children and young people in the UK.”
In conjunction with the partnership, Soap₂o is launching a competition aimed at 1,000 schools across the country. Children will participate by designing their own ‘soapy’ mascot, with the winning design to be featured on Soap₂o dispensers. All proceeds from the specially designed dispensers will be donated to Magic Breakfast, further enhancing their mission to support vulnerable children and young people.
Soap₂o aims to bring this eco-friendly approach to hand washing into schools to help them reduce their environmental impact and educate the next generation. Unlocking creativity, this competition seeks to educate children about sustainability and help them understand the positive impact on the planet that they are making by using this sustainable soap. Soap₂o is also visiting schools to encourage children to enter the competition, promote hand hygiene and nurture the next eco-conscious generation.
Jordan Hurley, Founder at Soap₂o, stated: “With an alarming rise in food insecurity amongst children in the UK as well as the increasing threat of climate change, we are determined to help alleviate the challenges these societal issues bring by launching this campaign. Collaborating with Magic Breakfast to combat hunger for children and allowing them to fully engage in education is the least that we could do.”
As well as feeding vulnerable children, Soap₂o also strives to reduce the impact that the cosmetics industry has on the environment by eradicating single-use plastic within the sector. Soap₂o provides schools with water-soluble soaps that are free from single-use plastics in production and packaging. Wrapped in PVA water soluble film, there is no waste to discard of as the container and cartridge do not go to landfill. With 100% recyclable packaging, Soap₂o have eliminated single use plastics and the shipping of water. Soap₂o is also a cruelty free brand involving no animal testing in production, certified by the Vegan Society.
In other charitable efforts Soap₂o has been working closely with the Made Blue Foundation to provide fresh water internationally. For every one litre of Soap₂o that is used, 33 litres of fresh drinking water is donated to children in need in Africa and South East Asia. The success of Soap₂o’s first long-term charity partnership with the Made Blue Foundation inspired the business to embark on the campaign with Magic Breakfast to continue to help children in need of essential amenities, as well as spread sustainability awareness.
The soap dispenser competition will end on Friday 24 November 2023, with the winning design featured on dispensers in schools from January 2024. With a constantly increasing number of children threatened by hunger, the money raised from this partnership will provide significant support to households in need.
