Canes help at brekkie for kids | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

A breakfast of champions was held in Masterton yesterday, as children's charity Kids Kai Time celebrated its first birthday with the help of the Hurricanes.

About 60 children were fed at the Genesis Recreation Centre with cereal, fruit, toast, baked beans and eggs, and sent away with a packed lunch, hand-made by Hurricanes players.

Kids Kai Time began 12 months ago as an initiative of Masterton restaurateur Michelle McArthur.

Aimed at providing and promoting healthy eating for children, the charity hosts a breakfast every month or so through the school year and supplies a packed lunch for selected lower decile schools.

Ms McArthur said it had been a rewarding year for the charity, with help from sponsors including BNZ and Wairarapa's own Henergy Eggs.

"And to have these guys [the Hurricanes] backing it as well is just great."

Schools visited yesterday included Lakeview School and Te Kura Kaupapa o Wairarapa.

The morning began with a selection of large rugby players jammed into the kitchen, helping prepare breakfast for the children and then moving on to packed lunches with bread rolls of tomato, lettuce and cheese, bananas and yoghurt.

"The boys are doing well," team manager said Tony Ward said.

Zumba fitness instructor Frankly Walker then put the children and some of the Canes through their paces, before children shared breakfast with the players, who helped put cereal and milk on to plates before the hot food was brought out.

All Black Victor Vito said he and his teammates "believe that food and fitness are the same thing".

"If you don't have healthy food, then you can't go out there and do what we do every day. A lot of that starts with breakfast."

Vito said without a good breakfast, "later on if you need to listen up or to play around in the playground, you might start fading away".

As a surprise finale to the event, cinema sound engineer Mike Hedges brought out one of the two Oscars that he won for his work on King Kong and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Hedges has been helping the Hurricanes with team-building, and before giving the children a chance to see the gold statue up close he urged them to "dream big dreams, and work hard".