About us

Young student smiles whilst eating cereal in her school uniform.

The Greggs Foundation is a grant-making charity which aims to build stronger and healthier communities in the areas served by Greggs. 

Three children smile and eat fruit together on a sofa.
We offer grant programmes which work to address three key challenges facing our local communities:
  • Addressing issues of poverty and inequality

  • Ensuring food is at the heart of communities

  • Supporting local community organisations to make a difference

Each of these challenges represent a community-centred issue. By giving people the resources and funding to act, The Greggs Foundation works to improve the lives of thousands of children, individuals and families every day. To learn more about the impact we are having on communities, take a look at our annual Impact Report.

We are an independent charity, managed by a dedicated team and overseen by a board of trustees. 

Grant programmes

We distribute over £3million per year to charitable organisations throughout England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. We operate grant programmes across three key areas:

Breakfast Clubs

Since the first Breakfast Club opened in 1999, we have grown the programme to now reach tens of thousands of primary school children every single school day. Each school is provided with fresh bread from their nearest Greggs shop and a grant to support running costs and breakfast food to suit the pupils. All schools within our Breakfast Club network also have access to hardship funding.

All Breakfast Club schools can also access Agents of Change, our bespoke free education programme delivered through Rethink Food. The programme aims to reach 50,000 primary school children over three years delivering over one million hours of education.

Three children smiling at a Greggs Breakfast Club
Two pupils butter toast whilst an adult in an apron helps.

Hardship funding

Hardship funding is available to help children and families with small grants during times of financial hardship. This can include food and clothing vouchers, beds and bedding, as well as essential home appliances including cookers, fridge freezers and washing machines that can make a significant difference to people’s lives.

Greggs in the community

We want to ensure local organisations can really make a difference and offer grant funding to community organisations in one of two ways. The Greggs Foundation issues grants of £20,000 per year for community organisations located near our Greggs Outlet shops. We support organisations that provide space and opportunites in local communities for people to come together, build connections, improve health and wellbeing and alleviate hunger and food poverty. 

We also offer the North East Core Funding programme for charitable organisations. This offers grants of up to £60,000 over three years for charitable organisations supporting their communities in the region. 

Women gather together and laugh around a table with a hot drink after a day of gardening.