Protect our school lunches

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Campaign Update - October 2024

On October 22, 2024 Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced a new model for school lunches for 2025 and 2026. The new model will see all external lunches provided by a School Lunches Collective led by multinational company Compass Group. See HCA’s media release about this here.

The announcement followed Health Coalition Aotearoa’s campaign to stop cuts to the programme in collaboration with Hapai te Hauora, NZEI and Child Poverty Action Group in April-May, 2024.

Health Coalition Aotearoa (HCA) has been a huge supporter of the Government’s healthy school lunches programme, Ka Ora, Ka Ako from its inception in 2019 because regular nutritious food is vital for children’s physical, mental and educational development.

We are currently scoping the next phase of our advocacy, with the aim of establishing a campaign team to commence early 2025.

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In early March,2024 HCA launched a campaign: Protect our Healthy School Lunches, Ka Ora, Ka Ako within days of Mr Seymour announcing funding cuts of up to 50%.

Just over 26,000 people added their signatures to the petition, and the campaign attracted significant media coverage.

Campaign timeline:

March 12 – Arakura School in Wainuiomata invited education leaders, HCA and media to share kai to advocate for the programme to be retained.
March 25 – A series of briefings highlighting the evidence of the programme’s efficacy published by the Public Health Communication Centre.
March 26 – HCA hosted a webinar on summarising the evidence of the programme’s efficacy. Over 100 people attended.
April 4 – Tikipunga High School in Whangārei invited supporters including HCA, media, and local MPs to its school lunch.
April 11 – HCA handed over the Protect Our Lunches petition to Labour’s Education Spokesperson Hon Jan Tinetti at a lunch event at Parliament, with students from five Wellington region schools.
April 17 – media release responding to news that 14 Ministry of Education Ka Ora, Ka Ako roles proposed to be disestablished, including eight nutrition experts and six advisors.
May 3 – opinion piece by HCA Co-Chair Professor Lisa Te Morenga published in the NZ Herald “Cut down version of school lunches risks throwing nutrition and manaakitanga in the bin”.
May 8 – media release responding to Food in Schools announcement by Hon David Seymour. HCA said the new model was “a devastating lost opportunity to promote healthy eating habits that protect against chronic diseases…”
August 18 – opinion piece by HCA Co-Chair Professor Lisa Te Morenga published in Stuff masthead newspapers – “Selling school lunches to the lowest bidder”.

The Government’s new school lunches model

Under the new model, a collective of 17 food manufacturers and suppliers will provide hot and cold lunches daily, according to the Ministry of Education.
It will start in 2025 for most eligible high schools and all learners in composite (years 0-15) and full primary (years 0-8) schools. In 2026, primary schools will join the new programme.

HCA’s concerns:

That the meals will be of poorer quality and less nutritious, and that there won’t be independent evaluations of the new model.
While the Ministry of Education website says suppliers will meet current nutritional standards, a Cabinet update about the programme and media comment by Compass Group are less clear about this. The terms of the contract have not been released.
British-based multinational Compass Group, and Libelle are the only two suppliers from the current programme that will be involved in the new model. In the current programme, they lost ¼ and ⅓ of school contracts respectively, due to poor quality food and service. This year they underwent a performance management plan due to complaints from schools. Despite this they have been awarded a contract worth at least $85million per year.
We know seven nutritionists were made redundant from the Ka Ora, Ka Ako team as part of the Ministry of Education’s cost-cutting earlier this year and we understand just two team members remain to monitor food quality, service, and adherence to nutritional standards.
Schools unhappy with the new programme will have no other option for external suppliers.
Compass Group hospital food, supplied under contract to Health NZ, has attracted complaints over quality and health and safety concerns.

Stop the cuts campaign

In early March,2024 HCA launched a campaign: Protect our Healthy School Lunches, Ka Ora, Ka Ako within days of Mr Seymour announcing funding cuts of up to 50%.

Just over 26,000 people added their signatures to the petition, and the campaign attracted significant media coverage.

Campaign timeline:

March 12 – Arakura School in Wainuiomata invited education leaders, HCA and media to share kai to advocate for the programme to be retained.
March 25 – A series of briefings highlighting the evidence of the programme’s efficacy published by the Public Health Communication Centre.
March 26 – HCA hosted a webinar on summarising the evidence of the programme’s efficacy. Over 100 people attended.
April 4 – Tikipunga High School in Whangārei invited supporters including HCA, media, and local MPs to its school lunch.
April 11 – HCA handed over the Protect Our Lunches petition to Labour’s Education Spokesperson Hon Jan Tinetti at a lunch event at Parliament, with students from five Wellington region schools.
April 17 – media release responding to news that 14 Ministry of Education Ka Ora, Ka Ako roles proposed to be disestablished, including eight nutrition experts and six advisors.
May 3 – opinion piece by HCA Co-Chair Professor Lisa Te Morenga published in the NZ Herald “Cut down version of school lunches risks throwing nutrition and manaakitanga in the bin”.
May 8 – media release responding to Food in Schools announcement by Hon David Seymour. HCA said the new model was “a devastating lost opportunity to promote healthy eating habits that protect against chronic diseases…”
August 18 – opinion piece by HCA Co-Chair Professor Lisa Te Morenga published in Stuff masthead newspapers – “Selling school lunches to the lowest bidder”.

“Do not take the food out of our children’s mouths”

Throughout the campaign schools and students spoke out about the value of the programme.

Principal of Te Kura Māori o Ngā Tapuwae in Māngere East Arihia Stirling said on TVNZ’s Breakfast programme, children were more focused and the number of students having to work to help pay for family basics had fallen as a result of the free lunch programme.

“What I say to the Associate Minister of Education is do not take the food out of our children’s mouths…this is so needed in the communities we serve.”

Seletute “Tute” Mila, principal of Arakura School in Wainuiomata, Lower Hutt, told The Press, Ka Ora, Ka Ako was a “critical programme” which her students loved.

The same story reported comments by Chisnallwood Intermediate Year 8 student Ryder who said the lunches should stay.

“…most people don’t have food at home.”

Before the lunches were introduced in 2022, Ryder said he struggled to learn “because my brain just got like, ‘oh, I’m so hungry’.

“After I ate the lunches I’d always have energy to do stuff.”

The evidence for healthy school lunches:

HCA’s analysis of Ministry of Education evaluations showed Ka Ora, Ka Ako:

Reduces hunger, particularly for food insecure ākonga
Improves nutrition – ākonga ate more nutritious food, with more vegetables and less snacks and sweets eaten.
Provides at least 1/3 of daily requirements for 78% of the key nutrients children need to thrive
Improved mental health and wellbeing – children at Ka Ora, Ka Ako schools reported a 6-14% improvement in mental health and wellbeing compared to peers in other schools
Created employment and business – the programme supports 3000 jobs, with workers paid the living wage and more than 180 businesses are providing lunches
Improves attendance, energy, engagement, attention and focus, and behaviour of students
Māori students ate more nutritious food, both at school and at home; had improved behaviour and attitudes; were more able to concentrate and engage with class material and had more confidence.

You can read more about the evidence for Ka Ora, Ka Ako in the series of Briefings on the Public Health Communications Centre:

Watch the webinar on evidence for Ka Ora, Ka Ako here: