Can we end child hunger in the 6th richest economy? | Carmel McConnell | TEDxExeter
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0:11 - 0:13Good morning.
-
0:13 - 0:17Thank you for having me at TEDxExeter,
it's great to be here. -
0:17 - 0:21We live in the sixth
richest economy in the world, -
0:21 - 0:25we live in a great,
caring, loving country, -
0:25 - 0:29but we're towards the tail end
of an economic downturn, -
0:29 - 0:32the worst in 80 years.
-
0:32 - 0:38That economic downturn
has seen real consequences: -
0:38 - 0:42prices have gone up,
but wages have stayed the same. -
0:47 - 0:51What we've seen as a result of that
are two things: -
0:51 - 0:55one, a rise in social inequality
in this country, -
0:55 - 1:00and two, the little known fact
that because of stretched food budgets, -
1:00 - 1:06we've actually got a hidden,
rising problem of child hunger. -
1:06 - 1:09When you think about child hunger
as a barrier to education, -
1:09 - 1:12you don't tend to think
about this country. -
1:12 - 1:18But this morning, all over this country,
and in this county, and in this town, -
1:18 - 1:20children went to school
too hungry to learn. -
1:21 - 1:24Half a million children went
to school too hungry to learn. -
1:28 - 1:30I want to tell you a story about Zara.
-
1:30 - 1:34Zara is a child in one
of our Magic Breakfast partner schools. -
1:35 - 1:38This is what she said
when I first met her, -
1:38 - 1:44"My mum gets me up in the morning,
and I get my brother Jack up, he's five. -
1:44 - 1:48If there's any cereal or any bread
in the house, we have some breakfast, -
1:48 - 1:51but if there's not, I go to the caff
on the way to school, -
1:51 - 1:53and I ask them if I could have some food.
-
1:53 - 1:56Sometimes, they give us something,
and sometimes, they don't. -
1:56 - 1:59Then, if they don't,
we go to school, and I'm OK, -
1:59 - 2:01but my brother Jack's crying by then.
-
2:01 - 2:03Then we wait until lunchtime."
-
2:08 - 2:13Half a million children starting
their school day too hungry to learn -
2:13 - 2:16is not something I think
this country should tolerate. -
2:16 - 2:20What do you guys think? No? No.
-
2:21 - 2:26What is really interesting is
how simple it is to sort this problem out. -
2:28 - 2:31What we're doing is delivering
free healthy breakfasts -
2:31 - 2:33to schools that need our help.
-
2:33 - 2:36Schools apply to us - schools
with over 35% free school meals - -
2:36 - 2:39and we deliver porridge,
bagels, orange juice, cereals. -
2:39 - 2:42We do it in a way that works
with the school's ethos. -
2:42 - 2:46We do three things: we deliver that food,
we hit the immediate need, -
2:46 - 2:48make sure those children
have the right fuel for learning, -
2:48 - 2:51we develop the capacity
in the parent community -
2:51 - 2:54because, obviously, more parents
could feed their children; -
2:56 - 3:00and we build a case for change
-
3:00 - 3:02because, I think, once we notice
-
3:02 - 3:06that this is happening
in this country, we will sort it out. -
3:06 - 3:10I'm here today to ask you
to join me in solving this. -
3:10 - 3:12It is very solvable.
-
3:18 - 3:21The bit that really interested me
-
3:21 - 3:26was the realisation
that at different times in your life -
3:26 - 3:29you get the chance
to do your life's purpose. -
3:29 - 3:33Before I get into more about
how we're trying to solve this problem, -
3:33 - 3:35let me tell you about how I got into it.
-
3:35 - 3:39About 15 years ago, I was writing
a book called "Change Activist". -
3:39 - 3:42My background had been a mixture
of corporate and activism, -
3:42 - 3:45I had lived at Greenham Common,
I'm trained as a broadband technologist. -
3:45 - 3:48I had a really good,
interesting career plan, you know, -
3:48 - 3:51it was kind of linear, Greenham
followed by broadband technology. -
3:51 - 3:53You've probably all done
that kind of stuff, -
3:53 - 3:56sit in the road, be arrested,
then train in geekdom. -
3:56 - 3:58(Laughter)
-
3:58 - 4:00I learnt to run a business
for quite a few years -
4:00 - 4:03that was helping leaders
to use social activism -
4:03 - 4:05as a way to create
more trust, more purpose, -
4:05 - 4:07more passion in their businesses.
-
4:07 - 4:09I wrote that book
called "Change Activist", -
4:09 - 4:15and when I was doing the research,
I went to ask a bunch of headteachers, -
4:15 - 4:19"Have we created a fairer
as well as a richer society?" -
4:20 - 4:22I was running a business in the city,
-
4:22 - 4:24I thought I might have been
a little out of tune -
4:24 - 4:26with some of the views around society.
-
4:26 - 4:30What those teachers told me
absolutely shocked me. -
4:30 - 4:36They said, "Carmel, all of us here,
are aware of hungry children. -
4:36 - 4:41In fact, more than half the teachers
are bringing in food every single day -
4:41 - 4:43in order to be able to teach."
-
4:43 - 4:45I was like, "Really?"
-
4:45 - 4:47Across the board in this country,
-
4:47 - 4:52more than half the teachers,
55%, are bringing in food. -
4:55 - 4:59In all of those schools,
there is the tragedy of that child -
4:59 - 5:03missing the most important lessons,
which are taught in the morning. -
5:03 - 5:07We've got great school lunches,
but without the right fuel, -
5:07 - 5:12without the slow-burning carbohydrate
that acts as magic in a child's body, -
5:12 - 5:14the right nutrition
that fires up the brain, -
5:14 - 5:18that gives the body energy,
those children are simply lethargic. -
5:19 - 5:21They're sitting in class stunned.
-
5:21 - 5:23A hungry child cannot concentrate.
-
5:26 - 5:28Some children are angry,
and upset, and are naughty. -
5:29 - 5:31But what we do know
-
5:31 - 5:35is half a million children coming
into school too hungry to learn. -
5:35 - 5:38Taking the long view,
what does that add up to? -
5:43 - 5:48My response, "Well,
why aren't the parents feeding it? -
5:48 - 5:51What's happened to the parents?"
-
5:51 - 5:54They just said, "Well, Carmel,
the parents are hungry too." -
5:56 - 5:59For a year I dropped off food
to those five schools, -
5:59 - 6:03I didn't know what else I could do,
I dropped off the food. -
6:04 - 6:07Halfway through, I went back
to talk to the teachers. -
6:07 - 6:10"Has this made any difference
at all? Is it helping?" -
6:10 - 6:14First of all, the Tesco people thought
I had the biggest carb habit in the world. -
6:14 - 6:15I was going in every morning,
-
6:15 - 6:19"I'd like 27 bags of bagels,
19 boxes of cornflakes, please." -
6:20 - 6:21"You like your breakfast?"
-
6:21 - 6:24"Yeah, I do. I get a bit hungry."
-
6:25 - 6:26"27 bagels!"
-
6:28 - 6:31Dropping that food off,
taking it to the caretakers, -
6:31 - 6:33running my business on a Saturday morning.
-
6:33 - 6:35They said, "Actually, you know what?
-
6:35 - 6:38We had kids that were getting in late,
they're coming in on time. -
6:38 - 6:39They're not stopping off at the caff.
-
6:39 - 6:46We had kids that didn't get in at all
because they were foraging for food. -
6:47 - 6:49They were looking for food.
-
6:51 - 6:54We had children with bad behaviour,
we assumed they were naughty. -
6:54 - 6:55It turned out they're hungry.
-
6:55 - 6:58We had children who had
playground fights, they've stopped. -
6:58 - 7:02We had kids who were doing pretty badly
in school, they're doing better. -
7:02 - 7:04So I had this big choice.
-
7:04 - 7:08I'd just written this book about values
and about business leaders stepping up -
7:08 - 7:12and playing more of a role
in creating a fair and just society. -
7:12 - 7:15I had this big think to do.
-
7:15 - 7:20Do I go back to my role in corporate life
advising big companies on that, -
7:20 - 7:21or do I just do it?
-
7:22 - 7:25So I went home, had a chat
with Key Domestic Stakeholder, -
7:25 - 7:27(Laughter)
-
7:29 - 7:31took a loan out on our house,
-
7:31 - 7:36and gave myself
a two-year project management plan -
7:36 - 7:38to solve it, to sort it out.
-
7:38 - 7:40And because I am
a rubbish project manager -
7:40 - 7:41- I thank you -
-
7:41 - 7:42(Laughter)
-
7:42 - 7:45I'm ten years on and here we are.
-
7:46 - 7:49But, right now,
-
7:49 - 7:56Magic Breakfast is delivering
-
7:56 - 7:5917,000 children's breakfast every day.
-
8:00 - 8:04We reach 17,000 children
in 440 schools all over the country, -
8:04 - 8:05all across the South West,
-
8:05 - 8:09and what we need to do
is to reach that half a million. -
8:10 - 8:16I'd like to share with you a little clip
from one of our partner schools. -
8:16 - 8:19(Video) (woman) Some of the parents
have to make difficult choices -
8:19 - 8:20as to how to spend their money.
-
8:20 - 8:22Some of them don't have the money to spend
-
8:22 - 8:25on giving their child
a healthy breakfast every morning. -
8:25 - 8:27Them having a healthy breakfast
-
8:27 - 8:30means that they can get
a great start to the school day, -
8:30 - 8:34they can focus, they can concentrate,
they can then progress. -
8:34 - 8:40The attendance in the school has improved,
and the punctuality has surely improved. -
8:40 - 8:43CC: Whether they're served up
in the school hall or in the classroom, -
8:43 - 8:46the bagels are the highlight of the day.
-
8:46 - 8:49(teacher) Are you ready everyone?
The bagels are coming! -
8:49 - 8:50(Cheers)
-
8:51 - 8:55(student) When I eat the bagel,
it fills me up, -
8:55 - 8:58and it gets my brain ready for the lesson.
-
8:58 - 9:02(student 2) It's really fun
because you get energised for the day, -
9:02 - 9:06and you're not hungry
during the day, and you learn more. -
9:06 - 9:10(teacher) It was heartbreaking to see
children coming in, not having eaten. -
9:10 - 9:12I was bringing in food from home.
-
9:12 - 9:16I was bringing in breakfast bars
to keep in my locker, just in case. -
9:16 - 9:22But since Magic Breakfast has come,
they are here, they're fed, they're awake, -
9:22 - 9:25they're energized, and they're
prepared for the school day. -
9:25 - 9:28Carmel McConnell: What are
the very basic things you can do, -
9:28 - 9:30I come from a corporate background,
-
9:30 - 9:32what things can we do
that make the biggest difference? -
9:32 - 9:35What's the smallest thing we can do
to make the biggest difference? -
9:35 - 9:38When I was doing
"Change Activist" research, -
9:38 - 9:42not only did I hear from the headteachers
I also learned more about social activists -
9:42 - 9:44that I think can be role models
for all of our lives. -
9:44 - 9:47People like Gandhi, Mandela,
people who made the world change. -
9:47 - 9:49They didn't have iPads,
they didn't have iWatches, -
9:49 - 9:51which are available today apparently.
-
9:51 - 9:54Anyone got one that they'd like
to show me, or share or give me? -
9:54 - 9:55No? OK.
-
9:56 - 9:58Those people changed the world.
-
9:58 - 10:01So, this is about a great idea,
-
10:01 - 10:05a nutritious breakfast for a hungry child
that opens up four hours of learning. -
10:06 - 10:10In this country, half a million children
too hungry to learn, -
10:10 - 10:14it is a problem we must solve,
and from my point of view, -
10:15 - 10:20we are absolutely determined
to do this as quickly as we can -
10:20 - 10:24with a way to build in
business partnership support, -
10:24 - 10:28create a sustainable breakfast provision,
making sure that schools can self-fund it. -
10:28 - 10:31Yesterday I had a meeting
with someone from your local authority -
10:31 - 10:35who told me about the children
going to school hungry in Devon. -
10:35 - 10:39We were talking about ways to make sure
that those children are supported -
10:39 - 10:42with the Magic Breakfast ideas
if we can't get there right now, -
10:42 - 10:45because we've got 270 schools
on our waiting list. -
10:45 - 10:47We also want to tackle holiday hunger.
-
10:47 - 10:49We've got Magic Breakfast 365.
-
10:51 - 10:55From the point of view
of all of those children, -
10:55 - 11:00right now, we're delivering
2 million breakfasts a year. -
11:00 - 11:04Small team, 15 people,
brilliant people, I have to say. -
11:04 - 11:06But we are catalytic.
-
11:06 - 11:08We want to do this
through thought leadership. -
11:08 - 11:11We want local authorities to be inspired.
We want schools to be inspired. -
11:11 - 11:16If you've got a way
to help a school with ideas, -
11:16 - 11:17we really want to do that.
-
11:17 - 11:22We've built up a ten-year track record,
delivered six million breakfasts, -
11:22 - 11:25and we now think
that this is something we can solve. -
11:26 - 11:28Results coming back from schools
-
11:28 - 11:33make us feel like we have
something really magical here. -
11:34 - 11:39Those stats: 93% of schools are telling us
-
11:39 - 11:42that they've increased
concentration in the classroom. -
11:42 - 11:44Fuel for learning.
-
11:44 - 11:48I'm passionate about a pipeline of success
being created in this country. -
11:48 - 11:52The accident of birth, poverty,
no food, empty cupboards -
11:52 - 11:56should not be a barrier to a child
going on to great success. -
11:57 - 12:01Around the world, great success
is coming through breakfast programs. -
12:02 - 12:05Ofsted are telling us that they see
that really good breakfast provision -
12:05 - 12:09is helping to drive great results
in the schools as well. -
12:09 - 12:11We've had schools where Ofsted has said
-
12:11 - 12:15that it's actually been key
to the school's improved performance. -
12:15 - 12:19That's not bad, is it?
Getting Ofsted on board like that. -
12:19 - 12:22I was delighted! Did a couple
of cartwheels across the school. -
12:22 - 12:24(Laughter)
-
12:24 - 12:26The kids said it was pretty bad.
-
12:26 - 12:27(Laughter)
-
12:27 - 12:31But my question to you again is
can we do it here in this country? -
12:31 - 12:35Can we do it? Can we end
child hunger in this country? -
12:35 - 12:38Can I change the slides?
-
12:39 - 12:42(Laughter) (Applause)
-
12:47 - 12:49I would applaud too, but I have more.
-
12:49 - 12:50(Laughter)
-
12:53 - 12:56"Oh God, no!", they said.
Some people started leaving. -
12:56 - 12:58(Laughter)
-
13:01 - 13:03This is how we're going to do it.
-
13:03 - 13:06We're going to turn primary schools
into community and economic hubs -
13:06 - 13:08that will be open every single day.
-
13:08 - 13:11We're going to support the amazing,
fantastic, gorgeous teachers, -
13:11 - 13:12who I am in love with.
-
13:12 - 13:14Are there any teachers in tonight?
-
13:16 - 13:20Well... I'm not telling you!
-
13:21 - 13:25What we have to do though
is sort out stories like Zara's. -
13:25 - 13:28As we go back to Zara's story,
-
13:28 - 13:32we find out that, actually,
she was getting into worse trouble. -
13:32 - 13:36The lack of food at home meant
that she was being naughty at school, -
13:36 - 13:39and the teachers were saying
that she was going to be excluded. -
13:39 - 13:42I take journalists to our schools,
-
13:42 - 13:45and they tell me, "Carmel,
this is about bad parenting. -
13:45 - 13:47Honestly, you're creating dependency."
-
13:47 - 13:51I say, "Hold on. I've had
25 million of those conversations. -
13:51 - 13:53Come with me.
Come and talk to the children. -
13:53 - 13:55The parents are going home
to empty cupboards. -
13:55 - 14:01We are supporting working poor families
who run out of money midweek. -
14:01 - 14:05They may not have food skills, they may
not have organisation in the morning, -
14:05 - 14:08but the most important driver
of child hunger in this country -
14:08 - 14:10is poverty.
-
14:13 - 14:15And we can sort it for 22p a day."
-
14:15 - 14:20Any billionaires or business leaders here
that want to give me a hand? -
14:20 - 14:22I would be delighted.
-
14:23 - 14:24Zara's teachers told us
-
14:24 - 14:27that if Zara kicks off,
the whole school kicks off, -
14:27 - 14:32but with a bagel and a glass of milk,
she was settled and ready to learn. -
14:32 - 14:38Ladies and gentlemen, a 22p breakfast gets
the school settled and ready to learn. -
14:38 - 14:40That's not bad is it?
-
14:41 - 14:44It's our choice: we take the long view,
and we sort this out, -
14:46 - 14:49or we choose to ignore those children.
-
14:49 - 14:51We're the grown ups here.
We're the grown ups. -
14:51 - 14:54I know I'm not very grown up,
but we are the grown ups, -
14:54 - 14:57and we are here to support
these children if we can. -
14:58 - 15:03This is when we took Zara to Number 10.
We had a partnership with Number 10. -
15:03 - 15:06She came in and the teacher
was so impressed with her confidence, -
15:06 - 15:08with her ability to ask
questions, and she said, -
15:08 - 15:10"Where does the Prime Minister sit?"
-
15:12 - 15:13"The Cabinet Table."
-
15:13 - 15:17And she went under the cordon
and got in and sat down. So Zara! -
15:17 - 15:19(Laughter)
-
15:20 - 15:23There's lots of people
that could lead this country -
15:23 - 15:26in that group of half a million children
that are too hungry to learn. -
15:26 - 15:32My life's ambition
is to orchestrate this change -
15:32 - 15:34because what kind of people would we be
-
15:34 - 15:39if we saw this problem,
and we decided not to sort it out? -
15:42 - 15:47I'm here today to ask
for these children's future life chances. -
15:47 - 15:48They are great kids.
-
15:48 - 15:50They are hungry.
-
15:50 - 15:54And I'm so grateful for the chance
to talk to you this morning. -
15:54 - 15:57As the children say: thank you.
-
15:57 - 15:59(Applause)
- Title:
- Can we end child hunger in the 6th richest economy? | Carmel McConnell | TEDxExeter
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.
We live in the 6th richest economy in the world, but a half million children in the country go to school, too hungry to learn. Providing a simple breakfast can make an enormous difference.
Carmel’s background is a mixture of social activism and senior corporate roles. She has an MBA in change leadership and technology, and has worked at senior levels in BT, UBS and 20th Century Fox, as well as working as growth and strategy adviser to many FTSE 100 companies.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 16:11
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Denise RQ
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09.11: Transcript updated:
0.16.95 in the sixth richest in the world -->in the sixth richest economy in the world.