One in 10 skipping breakfast finds Ross-based FUEL10K brand as it steps up FareShare link to help plug the gap
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NEW research carried out by a Ross-shire based breakfast food company has revealed that one in 10 Scots are skipping breakfast to cover the rising cost of living.
That means more than half a million Scots are skipping breakfast due to financial concerns.
The study, carried out by breakfast brand FUEL10K which was co-founded by Alex Matheson of Brahan near Conon Bridge, found that Scotland is the 10th most affected region in the UK, with one in ten (equivalent to 559k people) skipping meals at least once a week.
Across the UK, it is men (17.7 per cent) that are slightly more likely to skip a meal at least once week due to money worries than women (14 per cent).
Yet missing a meal isn’t helping them and 65.4 per cent said they find it harder to focus without a morning meal, while a similar number admitted that they feel more irritable.
Leading registered nutritionist Thalia Pellegrini said: “Skipping breakfast can have a negative impact on both our mental and physical wellbeing for the whole day and that’s avoidable for far less than people think.
“Having ‘fasted’ overnight, you need to kick-start your energy with a nutritious breakfast and you don’t have to spend fortunes to do it.
“Refuelling is important. When blood sugar levels drop very low, which they can when someone hasn’t eaten for many hours, the day can feel much more of a struggle.”
"If projected nationally this would mean millions of people are sometimes missing out on meals, usually breakfast, because of money worries.” - Barney Mauleverer
The research was commissioned to highlight a new initiative in conjunction with food redistribution charity FareShare, of which football star Marcus Rashford is an ambassador, aiming to deliver half a million free portions of porridge to poorer households during February – meaning families across Scotland will receive more than two tonnes of free porridge this month.
Barney Mauleverer, another co-founder, said: “When we partnered with FareShare we wanted to gauge the scale of the problem and were alarmed by the findings. If projected nationally this would mean millions of people are sometimes missing out on meals, usually breakfast, because of money worries.”
FUEL10K will be supporting FareShare by donating a portion of porridge for every pot of porridge they sell during February. They expect the sales of their Porridge Pots to provide more than 500,000 free portions of porridge directly into the hands of the many frontline community groups that FareShare work with, through on-shelf promotions and nationwide listings with supermarkets, online retailers and convenience stores.
