Sheffield breakfast club for parents helps with high cost of food

Dawn Hayes is cooking sausages and hash browns in the kitchen of Shirecliffe Community Centre in Sheffield.

She is helping out at an adult breakfast club where parents and grandparents who have children at the adjoining Meadows nursery can have a hot meal for £1.

“It stops a lot of people going home and being lonely and it makes sure single parents get a meal,” she says.

The club is unusual in catering for adults at a time when many families are struggling with the cost of food – and parents may go without full meals to ensure their children are fed.

Ms Hayes, 47, explains: “I originally started coming to the centre when I brought my daughter to the nursery. When we looked at what people wanted within the community, we decided to set up a breakfast club.

“As parents drop off their children, we decided they needed somewhere to go rather than just going straight home.”

She has been the cook since it began and says it was set up to provide both food and company.

“It stops a lot of people from going home and just being alone. There are a lot of single parents around here and as a single parent, you often don’t get time to eat for yourself as you get up, get the kids ready and give them breakfast.

“We’re a bit of a social activity but we also make sure parents are eating as well.”

Parents can have a breakfast butty, along with hot drinks and cereal. A nearby Tesco store donates tea and coffee but the club does not receive any grants. It relies on occasional community events for fundraising and on the £1 contributions.

Many schools and nurseries now operate breakfast clubs for pupils, often with sponsorship from the major supermarket chains and brands.

The government has also launched an “early adopter” scheme for 750 schools, which will be given funding to offer free breakfast clubs lasting 30 minutes.

Lina, 34, has three children. Her two eldest boys were born during the pandemic so she struggled to meet other parents when playgroups were closed.

“I was feeling so lonely with nobody to speak to, and trying to deal with my two little boys, but the breakfast club gave me chance to build my confidence and make friends.

“The hot meal is a bonus for everyone. When it’s Thursday, I know I’m going to have my coffee and breakfast and it’s like a treat.

“I don’t have the chance to go to cafes because of the cost and also because the kids will be crying, but I know all these people, they are my friends. We are not just a breakfast club, not even a community, we are a family now.”

Jane Clark, 61, is a grandmother now but also enjoys the club.

“I’ve got a lot of time on my hands now and I like having a chat with people, learning stuff from them and maybe them learning stuff from me,” she says, nursing a cup of tea.

“Being around children keeps you young. Happy kids, happy mums, happy grannies!”