T4Ks aim is to break the cycle of poverty, poor health, social exclusion, and helplessness, through and by supporting emergency food relief, food security and education. Whilst food is a basic human need and right, not everyone has access to adequate, nutritional food, along with the benefits of associated health, economic, cultural, and social securities. Food insecurity, or the inability to acce
ss food of sufficient quantity and quality to satisfy minimum dietary needs, is the most basic form of human deprivation. Unfortunately, there are many that regularly experience food insecurity, placing themselves at a greater risk of episodes of hunger, malnutrition, impaired learning, decreased productivity, poor mental health, chronic diseases, and a lower quality of life. Additionally, children who are exposed to food insecurity are at high risk of adverse health outcomes later in life, including cardiovascular disease, obstructive pulmonary disease, cancers, asthma, autoimmune disease, and depression. With poverty seen as the most common cause of food insecurity, education is seen as one of the most important factors in breaking the vicious cycle of poverty and the intergenerational transmission of poverty. As many as one in five children in Australia attend school without eating breakfast. Approximately 15% arrive at school without lunch, or the means to buy it, leaving them hungry and undernourished. Hunger and undernourishment can lead to lower math scores, attention problems, and behaviour, emotional, and academic problems. Missing breakfast not only affects one’s academic performance it also worsens one’s health. A lack of breakfast can lead to a slower metabolism, an increase in stress hormone levels, an increased risk of heart disease, and a drop in blood sugar levels. Emergency food relief programs such as school breakfast clubs protect our children from hunger and undernourishment. These programs also have long-lasting, positive effects on academic achievement and health – helping break the cycle of poverty and food insecurity.
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Reading well is essential to tackling the effects of child poverty and is the keystone of a good start in life for all children. An important role for parents in the development and educational performance of their children is reading aloud to their children from birth. It is undeniable that a child’s reading skill is important to their success in school, work, and life in general. And it is very possible to help ensure the child’s success by reading aloud to them starting at birth. Some benefits of reading aloud to children include, supported cognitive development; improved language skills; preparation for academic success; developing a special bond between parent and child; increased concentration and discipline; improved imagination and creativity; and cultivating a lifelong love of reading. Parents have an incredible ability to have a positive impact on children’s ability to read. This need not be an onerous activity – just reading aloud ten minutes a day can make a huge difference. Such investment would increase the child’s reading and other cognitive skills, as well as positively affect the likelihood of acquiring higher education, advanced training, along with the economic returns in terms of wages and quality of jobs. Imagine not having the ability to read a job description, apply for a job, or know the content of a contract you sign. Those are typically the basic steps of finding a job or starting a business. A lack of literacy has also been commonly found to make it harder for people looking to enter the workforce for the first time, restricting their job choices/opportunities and income; limiting their ability to provide and care for themselves (and their families); and continue the cycle of poverty. Numerous studies have shown that students who are exposed to reading before preschool are more likely to do well when they reach their period of formal education, transforming children’s lives by helping them overcome poverty, leading them to better health and increased income opportunities. Whilst Toast for Kids Charity Inc’s primary focus is providing emergency food relief to school breakfast clubs, our secondary focus is to invest in future generations by helping develop a strong foundation to enable children to reach their full potential, enrich their brains, increase capacity, improve cognitive development, and ignite their imagination and curiosity. By providing a free picture story book to parents of new-born babies, it will encourage parents to also invest in their child’s future education and life, by reading aloud from birth. Additionally, it is hoped that through this action, parents will also grow their own literacy skills and open up new opportunities - helping break the cycle of poverty.
