Leeds Breakfast Club Brings in up to 110 Students Each Saturday

A weekend breakfast club aimed at students is bringing queues to the Cardigan Centre, on the border of Hyde Park and Burley, each Saturday from 1pm.

The breakfast club is organised by It’s Our Day, a mental health awareness charity with a prevention led approach. Their aim is to listen to young people and respond to their needs in order to support them through everyday life.

At the core is their vision to create a “society that nurtures young people, enhances their self-esteem, and places their emotional wellbeing at the forefront of every educationally related policy decision,” with a mission to “understand and raise awareness about the current pressures facing today’s young people to bring about a better understanding of how to prevent them from developing long-term mental health needs.”

Each Saturday, It’s Our Day volunteers open the doors of the Cardigan Centre to all students for a home cooked meal, selections of cakes, board games, crafts and community.

The outreach project formed following research done by the charity, which found that 80% of students experienced mental health issues whilst at university, and that this contributed to a feeling of isolation.

The aim of the club is to engage students with a healthy and hearty meal, and to address student food poverty, while promoting information on wellbeing.

The breakfast club starts at 1pm each Saturday (fitting for a student breakfast) and offers a choice of home cooked meals, including full English breakfasts, roast chicken dinners, vegetable soups and a vegan chilli.

Since 2019, the very first breakfast club consisted of around 24 apparently suspicious students who had been scouted off the streets and given a free sandwich. 

By February 2020, word had spread and around 100 were turning up weekly.

The Breakfast Club didn’t let the pandemic interrupt their outreach work either, handing out meals in takeaway containers for students to collect, and later delivering food packages of fresh fruit and vegetables to students who would usually attend the club.

When the Breakfast Club reopened its doors after lockdown, it didn’t take long for word to respread. Despite those who attended pre-pandemic having likely graduated, the club reached its peak attendance on January 22^nd 2022, as 113 students spent their lunch time or afternoon recharging in the community centre.

Tables are set with Connect Four sets, UNO cards and feedback forms to hear directly from students about their experiences and needs. A new addition has also seen It’s Our Day print their own playing cards for students to take home, which have the contact information for support services, such as Samaritans, on the back.

The charity hopes that their outreach project will expand locally, regionally and nationally. They highlight the underuse of common rooms in university halls and how schemes like these can combat isolation, homesickness and food poverty, whilst making the most of the resources universities have to offer.

One student said when friends come to visit, she takes them to the Breakfast Club and they always wish their university city offered the same.

Its location between Hyde Park and Burley means it has gained popularity particularly with second, third, fourth (and even some fifth year) students, whose housing tend to be nearby.

Students who attend said they feel supported in a welcoming environment, where they feel they are cared for.

Volunteers running the café-style club range from 24-years old to retirees, something that the students note helps create a comforting environment.

One of them said, “It’s like going home to your parents’ for a Sunday Roast.”

Some students said they love to have something to get dressed and leave the house for on a weekend, while others said it gives them the opportunity to take a well-needed break from thinking about academic assignments.

Others spoke of the opportunity to socialise in a non-drinking environment.

Speaking of the success of the outreach project, Jen, It’s Our Day’s Social Media Manager, said they simply provided the space and the “students made the community for themselves.” The Student Breakfast Club opens its doors to all every Saturday at 1pm to 5pm at the Cardigan Centre, Cardigan Rd, Burley. You can also follow It’s Our Day on Facebook and Instagram.