One in five Aussie kids miss out on breakfast every day

Breakfast has long been hailed the most important meal of the day, but it turns out it's also the most neglected.

A recent study by hunger relief organisation Foodbank revealed one in five Australian kids go to school hungry.

The survey of 1,000 parents found 22 per cent of Australian children under the age of 15 live in a household that has run out of food at some point in the past year.

Jules Sebastian believes every kid deserves a good start to the day, and so she’s teamed up with Sanitarium to tackle hunger in Aussie schools.

"As a mother… It really broke me," the lifestyle blogger said of hearing the shocking statistic for the first time. "I couldn't not [get involved]."

In partnership with Foodbank, Kickstart for Kids and the Australian Red Cross, Sanitarium's Good Start Breakfast program offers a healthy breakfast and nutrition education to thousands of schoolkids in areas of greatest need around Australia, delivering food to some of the country's most disadvantaged communities.

"I know as a fully grown adult, if I don't have my breakfast, I'm hangry. I find it hard to concentrate, I find it hard to be a nice person, I can't learn things," Sebastian told TODAY Extra.

"Imagine being a child and having to go to school and meet expectations and learn things. If you don't have a full belly, it's really hard to concentrate."

As Sanitarium's nutritionist Trish Guy explained: "Children who regularly don't eat breakfast are actually missing out on a number of key nutrients they need each day for good health such as iron, calcium, zinc and fibre."

With many families struggling to afford to even the bare minimum, nearly one million kids are missing out on these essential nutrients every day.

"It can happen to any of us," explained Sebastian. "It's winter time, a heating bill comes in that you didn't anticipate, that's $5000 out the window. Or your car breaks down, that's another $5000. These things happen and most of us don't have a lump sum sitting in the bank account just to cover that, so it can affect regular, every day families."

The mum and lifestyle blogger, who shares two kids with husband Guy Sebastian, revealed her family recently had a health and fitness overhaul, with the prospect of a magazine cover kick-starting the process.

"We've been at this for about a year now. Guy did the cover of Men's Health last year, and so we just got on the health train and realised that we're healthier, stronger, nicer humans," she said.

She added their boys Hudson, six, and Archer, four, also get involved.

"It's better for our kids, they see us eating healthy, they want to do the same thing. They come to the gym with us… it's so fun."